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Overview

In 1990, Adilia de Pullinger, wife of Roberto, became manager of the farm and fervently started the process of reconstruction with the goal of reclaiming the areas of the farm that had been abandoned during the war. Her perseverance and hard work in conjunction with that of her children and the farm workers, allowed for an increase in production nearly reaching the pre-war prosperity. The revitalization of the production is a direct result of the close-knit Pullinger family and the good relation that it has had with its workers and the surrounding community for nearly 90 years. More than 40 families depend on the farm, six of whom live on the farm property. The family is committed to sustainable practices of cultivation; they use minimal amount of chemicals and try to implement traditional methods of production that will provide the most benefits to the surrounding villages with minimal impact to the flora and fauna. There are 70 different tree varieties that provide shade and some 50 species of resident and migratory birds have been spotted at El Porvenir. Four years ago a colony of coyotes made El Porvenir their home and hunting ground and periodically are heard during the night. This commitment to quality and sustainability has enabled El Porvenir to be managed under the Rainforest Alliance Certification since 2006. Ever conscious of the social impact of coffee farming, the Pullinger family is concerned with the well-being of surrounding villages and tries to implement systems to contribute to the social and economic welfare of the people who work on the farm. El Porvenir organizes Christmas celebrations for children, has donated land to create a dispensary for the community, has created a soccer field and is constantly thinking of ways to improve education and healthcare. Earnings from the last Cup of Excellence competitions have been used to install rainwater collection tanks, install ecoefficient stoves and bring electricity to five homes within the property. Gender also factors into these social goals as the Pullinger family promotes gender equality by offering women equal job opportunities. This year the coffee that entered the event was taken from a section called Las Nubes (The Clouds) grown with Pacamara that has been cultivated for the past 5 years in a plot of 4.2 hectares. Attention to detail and educational component of the farms harvest process contributed to winning Cup of Excellence again this year. El Porvenir ranked 3rd in 2008 with a score of 90.05. This coffee was harvested in mid February by selecting a group of experienced pickers and when they had abundance of fully ripe cherries. Adilia’s expectations with this new award are to increase opportunities that allow her more investment, not only toward production of better quality coffee but also to be used in more projects that will ensure the quality of life for the surrounding communities. The long term vision of Adilia is to improve her sustainable coffee production and identify other microlots of high quality coffees. Adilia sees these goals as being complementary and truly believes that the search for a better product will also provide a better standard of living for those that work on the farms. Finally, the recognition that comes from achieving a Presidential award at the Cup of Excellence for a second time demonstrates the quality of the coffee produced at El Porvenir. This sense of recognition is a point of pride for Adilia and provides the consumer with the guarantee that when they drink a cup of coffee from El Porvenir they are drinking the best.