Balingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Oscar G. Arreola is a passionate advocate for smallholder coffee farmers, originally from Guatemala, who now lives and works in Germany as the manager of Rebel Merchants. Through his role, he’s dedicated to helping coffee farmers in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua access higher-value markets in the European Union—markets that can offer them a more sustainable and fair income. Oscar’s work revolves around breaking down the barriers that many small-scale farmers face when trying to get their coffee to the international stage. With a background in tropical agriculture, environmental economics, and international development, Oscar brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience. Over the years, he has worked on a variety of education, environmental, and production development projects in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the USA, always with a focus on creating opportunities for farmers to thrive. His work has always been driven by the belief that coffee growers deserve fair access to global markets—access that isn’t just about selling beans, but about building long-term, meaningful relationships that benefit everyone involved. At Rebel Merchants, Oscar is particularly committed to ensuring that coffee roasters in Europe have the chance to establish commercial partnerships that truly make a difference in the lives of coffee producers. For Oscar, this isn’t just about business—it’s about creating a more equitable coffee industry where farmers can thrive, and roasters can feel proud of the beans they source. Every step he takes is in pursuit of a more sustainable, fair, and connected global coffee community.
FECCEG stands for the Guatemalan Marketing Federation of Specialty Coffee (Spanish acronym). We are a group of coffee/cacao farmers from 14 cooperatives that work together to grow, mill, export, import, and distribute coffees, cacao, and panela (raw full sugar). In total, we group over two thousand small landholder farmers from the Western and Northern regions of Guatemala. We develop ethical relationships between independent coffee roasters and cacao manufacturers (bean to bar) in the European Union, with farmers in Guatemala. We work implementing sustainability principles to improve the living standards and wellbeing of member farmers. Profits from direct trade are key in supporting social and environmental projects developed in partnership with other development organizations.
Carry out WK Kellogg Foundation's strategic programming functions in Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo.
The theoretical exploration across years of discussions about sustainability and the review I am conducting of the work of different groups using sustainability indicators will enable me to understand the multiple elements embedded in sustainability, how these theories translate into practice, and what are the barriers for practitioners of community development in implementing theoretical recommendations.
Local payments for environmental services in rural aqueduct settings: strategies to protect water sources in six communities of the Atlantic Costa Rica. Michigan State University and EARTH University. Co-developed a survey questionnaire, organized and coordinated field work data collection. Over a period of six weeks, trained and supervised the work of fifteen surveyors, including a master level student from MSU. Also, responsible for budget administration and logistics for the project (US$30,000). 1295 households surveyed, 1084 surveys completed.
Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands (GLCW) Project phase II. Michigan Sea Grant College Program, the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, and the MSU Land Policy Program. Department of CARRS. Graduate Research Assistant. Sent 1,125 mail survey questionnaires to a sample of Michigan residents, digitized data, and performed data analysis using multiple variable regressions (probit models) to identify determinants of vote for the program to protect GLCW as well as respondent’s willingness to pay for it.