85.59
Farms name and location:
The farm El Aguacate is located in the El Comun community in the municipality of Santiago de Puringla in the Department of La Paz. It has an altitude of 1650 meters above sea level and is located 85 km from the city of La Paz, departmental capital. This farm is managed through an agroforestry system under the shade with little use of agrochemicals and focused in the soil and water conservation. It also has a protected forest area with timber and fruit trees. What is your farms history? Is your farm a family unit? How long has it belonged to your family? How many members make up your family? I started planting coffee by tradition, with my father, and with my own efforts started with 0.3 hectares in the Las Delicias community, Santiago de Puringla; due to the tough economic times I had to migrate to look for a job in the United States, after some years working I managed to save enough to buy 7 hectares of a coffee plantation in El Comun, Santiago in the year 2006. I have been planting for 12 years this aromatic bean which I do with the utmost care and satisfaction. I plant approximately 1400 QQ of parched coffee of the different coffee varieties catuai and Typica. My wife and I are involved in the farms activities since its our main source of income. We have no children.
How many persons work in your farm, family members, permanent employees and temporary employees? We have a permanent worker and we hire around 20 workers for the harvest and one for the coffees milling process. I personally do the drying.
What natural resources conservation practices do you follow in the farm? 1 The coffee is grown under the shade of forest trees, besides planting in curves at level to minimize the erosion of the soil.
2 There is waste water management treatment for the milling process so the water returns without pollution to the rivers.
3 There is solid waste management treatment with the composting process. What is the shade percentage and the varieties found in your farm? All the coffee in my farm is under regulated shade and I use for shade guama and fruit trees.
What type of fertilization process do you use in your farm? I use organic fertilization (coffee pulp) and two chemical fertilizations yearly after undergoing a soil analysis and getting feedback from the soil analysis lab from IHCAFE.What type of management do you use in your farm (traditional, semi-technical, technical?)The management of the farm is semi-technical.
Are you part of an association or cooperative? I am a member of Origin Denomination Marcala (DOP-Marcala) which has about 2000 coffee growers who are members. We collaborate among ourselves with the cultivation management practices and also form coffee micro lots which we sell to international buyers who visit our area in coordination with DOP-Marcala and IHCAFE.What is the secret for winning this competition (describe the preparation process of the competing lot)? 1 The geographical location of my farm and the environmental conditions.
2 Good planting, harvesting and milling practices3 - Training the harvest and mill processing staff.
4 Harvesting coffee at the optimum ripeness.
How does it feel to be a winner of the Cup of Excellence? I feel lucky to have won twentieth place, very happy and satisfied that all my efforts to preserve the quality of the coffee grown in my farm have been recognized in the Cup of Excellence 2012, and I am very grateful with IHCAFE for all the technical and logistical support given throughout the competition. Who prepares your coffee for exportation? (Explain how you sell it and to whom)All the members of Origin Denomination who participated in the Cup of Excellence, we negotiate our coffee with international buyers (Australia and Japan) and the Exporter CACTRIL from Trinidad, Santa Barbara prepared the coffee.
What is your opinion of the Cup of Excellence? 1 It benefits the grower.
2 It motivates growers and promotes the quality of our coffee.
3 It helps the grower get an economic profit.
4- It is an excellent opportunity to find an international buyer and establish possible future business relationships. What has been your experience in the Cup of Excellence? This is my second participation, in 2011 I also won twentieth place, like this year 2012. I sold my coffee in the online auction at a price of U.S. $ 4.30.
Rank | 20 |
---|---|
Farm Name | El Aguacate |
Farmer/Rep. | Javier Antonio Santos Bonilla |
Altitude | 1650 |
Country | Honduras |
Year | 2012 |
Size (30kg boxes) | 43 |
City | Santiago de Puringla |
Region | La Paz |
Program | Honduras 2012 |
Month | - |
Aroma/Flavor | AROMA: Malty, nutty, cedar, molasses,FLAVOR: peach, caramel, rosemary, caraway, chocolate,orange |
Acidity | mild, sparkling, crisp |
Other | oily, coating, dense |
Processing system | Wet Process , sun dried |
Variety | Catuai |
Coffee Growing Area | 7 |
Farm Size | 14 |
Auction Lot Size (lbs.) | 2838 |
High bid | 7.80 |
Total value | 22136.4 |
High bidders | NOZY COFFEE |