Saturday, January 1, 2011

Blue Mountain Project, Hagley Gap, Jamaica

The Blue Mountains are located 10 miles from Kingston, Jamaica. Here you will find Jamaica’s highest mountain peeks, over 7,000 feet above sea level. A small number of adventurous travelers take the challenge of hiking to the peak, where one can see Cuba on a clear morning. However, most of the time you will find a community of positive, hardworking people.

The mountains are covered with coffee farms and mango trees. Unfortunately, these coffee farmers take detrimental losses on their crops each year due to erosion and lack of equipment. Although this Jamaican java sells for over $35 per pound, these farmers only earn $10-$20 per day. There is no fair trade coffee from Jamaica.

The people walk almost everywhere as the infrastructure and access to transportation barely exists. Roads are not paved and are extremely narrow and dangerous. The roads become worse during the hurricane season. as a result of landslides and flooding. Sometimes the roads are completely impassable, leaving entire villages cut off from food and other necessities.