Recently, Finca Terrerito (the main Alma Family Farm) partnered with the Matiak Foundation located in North Georgia to build a school and clinic on the farm to educate and care for an adjacent village (El Caltatato) and the coffee pickers and their families who join us on the farm every harvest season. The Matiak Foundation is an organization founded by veteran, Heath Matiak. The foundation does work both here in Cherokee County, Haiti, and now Honduras. Their main focus is on “impacting and enhancing the lives of children, young adults, families, and veterans that are in poverty, homeless, and/or abandoned.” In Cherokee County, the foundation works with local schools, agencies, and non-profits to help train and create opportunities for employment for those in need. This includes foster kids aging out of the system, youth who did not complete high school, veterans re-entering the workforce, etc. In Haiti, the organization partners with non-profit organization, New Missions, by sending supplies collected by the local community, financially supporting the education and medical care of children through sponsorship and providing clean drinking water through financially supporting the building of wells since 2019.

Finca Terrerito’s (Finca T) side of this partnership was to donate the land for the building of this facility (school/medical clinic, bathrooms, small warehouse and future playground) and help coordinate all local permits, contractors, suppliers, etc. This has been Alma Coffee co-owner, Al Lopez’s, dream since he bought the empty farm land from his mother back in 2001. This dream stemmed from a desire to better the education systems in place within Honduras and create better living conditions for the farmers working at Finca T and the adjacent village. Currently, getting an education in the village is next to impossible. The closest school is 30-40 minutes away and provides no mode of transportation to get students there. Kids attending school are too young to walk alone for 30-40 minutes, and cannot drive a car to get to school. Parents of these children must be at work early so the option of taking them to school is non-existent. The only children getting an apt education are those that come from wealthy families. Right now, at the farm, we do provide transportation to get kids to and from school. However, many parents opt out of sending their children to school because the education is subpar and many times it is reported that the children develop bad habits while away from home.

Having a school at Finca T will bring big change within this community. No matter your social class, you will be provided with the opportunity to receive an education, for free! Since the beginning of Finca T, we have been excited to offer education and medical services to those on the farm. We are thrilled to see our vision becoming a reality! 

During harvest season, we will be able to put forty kids or more in our brand-new school on the farm. This will provide as both a tool for educating the next generation and a convenience for farmers to have their kids on the farm with them instead of 40 minutes away at school.

As of right now, the building is 60% done. By October/November there will be students sitting at desks and teachers laying out lesson plans. The medical center will open later in the year and will include a doctor and nurse on staff to take care of those who work on the farms and their families.