Introduction
Coffee is cultivated roughly within the tropical belt around the globe and is, according to some metrics, the second most valuable export on the planet (Pendergrast, 2009). Coffee production accounts for 9% of all exports from Central America, and 17% of Nicaragua's exports (International Trade Centre, 2012). Much of the necessary energy for coffee bean harvesting and processing is provided by manual labor. One of the tedious and labor intensive steps of coffee bean processing is depulping. On small rural farms depulping, or removing the cherry from the fresh coffee bean, is traditionally accomplished using a hand-cranked grating machine. Nonprofits such as MayaPedal have introduced pedal-powered depulpers in Central America. With an increased global awareness of the need for socially responsible agriculture, the introduction of labor reducing technologies seems an appropriate measure to improve the quality of life for many coffee workers in developing countries.