Migration March: The Story of Don Martin and La Pirámide

Migration has always shaped coffee landscapes. It has also shaped the lives of those who cultivate it. One of the most inspiring examples is the life of Don Martin, one of cumpa’s first partners, whose finca, La Pirámide, holds the echoes of centuries of migration, struggle, and resilience.

One of Don Martin’s neighbours’ houses. (2018, Peru)

Don Martin was born in the mountains of Cajamarca, Peru, to a family of mestizo laborers working under harsh conditions on European-owned haciendas. In the 1960s, this was the reality for many provincial Peruvians: backbreaking work for meager sustenance, with little hope for change. But change did come.

In 1969, General Velasco Alvarado’s Agrarian Reform shattered the old colonial landholding system, declaring: “Land to those who work on it!” Vast estates, once the property of a few families, were redistributed among the thousands who had toiled upon them. For Don Martin’s parents, this meant an opportunity—one that required an arduous migration from the Sierra to the Selva.

The journey was grueling: a 15-hour march through dense jungle, mud, and relentless rain, with their few possessions strapped to two donkeys. Don Martin, only five years old, arrived in Vista Alegre de Chingama, where his family could, for the first time, call the land beneath their feet their own.

Life in the jungle was unforgiving. Space for shelter had to be carved out of the dense forest. Coffee offered a means of survival, but reaching school meant walking four hours each way—often arriving covered in mud, only to be met with ridicule.

In the 1980s, as the Shining Path insurgency terrorized the countryside, Martin sought refuge in Lima. There, he faced another brutal reality—exploitation and homelessness. Dreams of a better life in the city crumbled, and he returned to his village with nothing but disillusionment.

Economic desperation drove many rural families into the coca trade. At first, it provided enough stability for Martin’s family to finance their children’s education. But the jungle was lawless—narcoterrorists, the military, and criminal networks made survival a daily gamble. Martin himself fell gravely ill, suffering from mysterious seizures that frequently left him unconscious.

On one Sunday in 1999, a close relative pressed a revolver to his head and pulled the trigger. Three times, the gun misfired. Martin took this as his moment to escape. Within days, he had fled with his wife and three children to start over—again.

On a dangerously steep, rocky hillside, Martin and his family cleared the land to build a home. A giant rock blocked the only flat spot, but Martin applied ancient knowledge: setting fires around it and then dousing it with water, shattering it over four days. The new home placed on where the big rock had been marked the beginning of their new life.

Then, in 2001, his youngest son discovered ancient ceramics beneath a massive rock. “A pyramid! A pyramid! We are living on a pyramid!” he exclaimed. Inspired by his son’s excitement, Don Martin named his finca La Pirámide.

To this day, the site remains a mystery. The ruins do not fit neatly into Inca history—nor do they match the known structures of the Chachapoya, the fierce “Warriors of the Clouds.” The surrounding jungle is still home to indigenous groups like the Awajún and the Quichwa, yet their history does not fully align with La Pirámide either. The land itself whispers secrets of lost civilizations, which might be lost forever – just like so many stories of precolombian Peru.

When Don Martin shared his journey with cumpa founder Lukas in 2018, it sparked something powerful. Lukas began writing a book about Don Martin’s life—a journey through Peruvian history, migration, resilience, and coffee.

Now, in 2025, the book is reaching its final pages. But the story is far from over.

Join us in celebrating Don Martin’s 60th birthday in Germany. Help us bring him here, cup his coffee, and honor his incredible journey as we read through his story together. Migration is at the heart of coffee—and Don Martin’s story is one that deserves to be told.

Find out more about how you can help with Don Martin’s birthday wish HERE.