B1 · Honduras
El café de la montaña
Coffee from the mountain
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La familia Mejía ha cultivado café en las montañas de Honduras durante cuatro generaciones. Su finca es pequeña, pero produce un café excelente que se vende en tiendas de Europa y Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, en los últimos años el clima ha cambiado y las plantas se enferman con más frecuencia.
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The Mejía family has grown coffee in the mountains of Honduras for four generations. Their farm is small, but it produces excellent coffee that is sold in stores in Europe and the United States. However, in recent years the climate has changed and the plants get sick more often.
Lucía, la hija menor, estudió agronomía en la universidad y volvió a la finca con algunas ideas nuevas. Quiere que su familia plante árboles que den sombra, porque así el café estará protegido del calor. Su padre no está seguro. Le preocupa que esos cambios cuesten demasiado y tarden años en dar resultados.
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Lucía, the youngest daughter, studied agronomy at the university and came back to the farm with some new ideas. She wants her family to plant trees that give shade, because that way the coffee will be protected from the heat. Her father isn't sure. He worries that those changes will cost too much and take years to show results.
«Si no hacemos nada, perderemos la cosecha tarde o temprano», le dijo Lucía. Al final, decidieron probar en una parte de la finca. Plantarán los árboles este año, y en tres años sabrán si la idea funciona. Mientras tanto, Lucía ha empezado a vender café por internet, lo cual podría darles más ingresos.
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"If we do nothing, we'll lose the harvest sooner or later," Lucía told him. In the end, they decided to try it on one part of the farm. They'll plant the trees this year, and in three years they'll know whether the idea works. In the meantime, Lucía has started selling coffee online, which could give them more income.
Words to know
- finca
- farm
- sin embargo
- however
- se enferman
- they get sick
- sombra
- shade
- demasiado
- too much
- cosecha
- harvest
- tarde o temprano
- sooner or later
- mientras tanto
- in the meantime
- ingresos
- income
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