Roberto harvesting corn planted on the hillside of his coffee forest.
Roberto Enrique Jiménez Ruiz
22 July 1953–28 June 2021
A gentle giant is a person who has widespread positive impact on the world but draws very little attention to themselves in the process. The world recently lost one of those gentle giants in the person of Don Roberto Jiménez of Agua Buena, Costa Rica. Following complications after surgery to remove a brain tumor, Roberto passed away on June 28, 2021.
Roberto personified the essence of CAN in how he farmed and nurtured the land, how he and his life partner Noemy and their family hosted CAN students, how he told his story, and how he worked both locally and globally to further environmental social justice.
Agua Buena, Costa Rica was one of the first communities to partner with CAN. We got to know Roberto as a coffee farmer and leader of the local coffee cooperative.
He was central in helping us shape a direct coffee market where the cooperative’s coffee was roasted locally and then shipped directly to consumers’ homes in the US, bridging the gap between grower and coffee drinker and returning more to the farmers and the community. Most of all Roberto was a teacher and mentor to many students from UC Santa Cruz. Through CAN, students did home stays with farm families so they could experience first-hand what it was like to be small-scale coffee producers in a global economy. They lived as part of the family participating in all activities and worked alongside the farmer.
Students returned from their stay with the Jiménez family speaking glowingly not only of the time they spent with the family, but of the stories of the kind of farming that Roberto was doing, creating a coffee forest with diverse trees, reforesting areas by streams and growing staples for his family’s table.
Roberto and his wife, Noemy Herrera Espinoza, with their granddaughters.
As part of CAN, Roberto was also an ambassador. The first time he flew on an airplane he came to Santa Cruz to speak at a United Students for Fair Trade conference, telling his story in classes, meeting with then Congressman Sam Farr. Always inviting people to visit him, he shared the story of the coffee farmer and made the personal connection to social justice.
Many of us remember the times we walked his farm listening to his wisdom and experience, and seeing it manifest in the beauty of his crops, animals, and soil. To walk with Roberto through his coffee forest was to be at one with nature, to be one with humankind, to be at one with yourself. As we continue to walk in his footsteps, we hope to pay him tribute for all that he showed us.
REMEMBRANCES OF ROBERTO
Roberto was always aware of the moment and ready to play his part with conviction and compassion. When the moment called for him to lead his coffee cooperative through a transition to sustainable coffee production, he did it, working tirelessly and with eloquence and grace.
When the moment called for a joke and a good laugh, he provided his quick witted and playful take on the world.
And when the moment called for patient and loving care of his family and of the countless CAN interns who lived with him over the years, he was up for it. He was a man of his moment who will be dearly missed.
Nicholas Babin
Assistant Professor, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,
Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences
I remember Don Roberto farming all day, then eating dinner, then walking into town with me to go to the organic coffee growers’ meeting, pointing out in the night sky what we call the Big Dipper, he learned as “El Arado” – the Plow.
I remember wanting to follow Roberto wherever he went. Sowing beans. Riding horses. Harvesting sugarcane. A visit to San Vito to do errands. Looking up to this kind and generous man, full of conviction, feeling the trajectory of my life change in a positive direction because of him.
Joey Smith
Farmer, Teacher, Community Connector
Always so giving and hospitable, Roberto and Noemy made me feel like family in the true sense of the expression. As was the case during my first visit, Roberto took a little time out of his busy routine to take me out to a little secret spot – in both cases waterfalls in the area. And of course, he never hesitated to show me around la finca, patiently explaining various agroecology techniques he had implemented. I was amazed at the growth in the forest he had planted since my first visit when I remember he was planting hardwood saplings.
Chris Lepe
Principal, Mariposa Planning Solutions
San Jose, CA
Read Steve Gliessman’s tribute to Roberto HERE.
