Panama’s highland coffee harvest depends each year on thousands of seasonal workers, most from the Indigenous Ng\u00e4be Bugl\u00e9 community. Families migrate to western mountain farms, providing the essential labor that harvests some of the world’s most expensive coffee beans. This tradition faces a critical shortage of workers, threatening a sector where culture and economic opportunity intertwine.<\/p>\n
The work unfolds in the districts of Boquete and Renacimiento in Chiriqu\u00ed province. This region produces the celebrated Geisha variety, a bean that commands record-breaking prices at global auctions. The annual harvest, or “zafra,” begins each September and relies heavily on migratory labor from the Ng\u00e4be Bugl\u00e9<\/a> comarca, one of Panama’s seven Indigenous territories.<\/p>\n Mois\u00e9s Montezuma personifies this deep connection. Now a respected national coffee judge, his journey started in the fields five decades ago. He began picking coffee in 1975, driven by a passion for the crop that would define his life. Montezuma is the only Ng\u00e4be Bugl\u00e9 judge who helps select the finest lots for Panama’s premier international competition.<\/p>\n “I started harvesting coffee in 1975. I had a passion for the things I did and one of them was learning to process coffee, later to taste it. Little by little I became a taster without realizing it,” Montezuma told EFE. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He served as a pre-judge before becoming an official national judge in 2006. His role places him on the expert panel for the Best of Panama (BOP)<\/a> event, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP)<\/a>. Montezuma’s story highlights a potential career path within the industry, moving from fieldwork to specialized, high-skill roles.<\/p>\n For many workers, the coffee harvest is not just a job but a vital funding mechanism for broader ambitions. Yamileth Pinto, a 21-year-old university student, uses her earnings to pay for her physical education studies. She learned the craft from her father, migrating with her family each year to the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda.<\/p>\n “When classes end, I migrate immediately for the harvest. That harvest helps me with the money I get at the end, it helps me to study,” Pinto explained. Her experience is common. Students and entire families plan their annual budgets around the seasonal income from coffee picking, a labor combination of necessity and opportunity.<\/p>\n Leopoldo Pinto Rodr\u00edguez offers a longer-term perspective. He started picking 35 years ago and learned a trade that provided lifelong stability. He was even among the workers who handled the first famed Geisha lot that revolutionized global specialty coffee in 2004.<\/p>\n “For Leopoldo, the greatest achievement is not having been part of that agricultural milestone in the history of Panamanian coffee in 2004, but that his children are university professionals,” the EFE report noted, attributing this success directly to consistent work in the sector. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nA Lifelong Journey from Picker to National Judge<\/h2>\n
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Harvest Funds Dreams and Builds Futures<\/h2>\n
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