Isidoro - Nicaragua 2020

It was inherited from my father. At that time we started with a plot but the disease of the rust came the coffee sticks and they were dry and what was possible was taken out of coffee. My brother went to Estelí and I was left in charge seeing the plantations, I filled the bags and so I started without any idea about coffee. I planted it with my two sisters and a brother. After the years the harvest began to rise, we did a second sowing and after 3 years we began to see the results, so we sowed more to improve ourselves and live. This gave us an emotion and we decided to continue planting.

My father worked for an owner of a coffee farm, which then became a state cooperative that emerged with the agrarian reforms. My dad worked until he became a member of that same cooperative, that was his story. He was given 8 ½ manzanas by this coop, he stayed with that.

Of this 8 and a half mz, 3 are destined for coffee and the rest are used to plant basic grains (corn and beans) with their brother and two sisters, who work in the fields.

Family
I live with my partner Maura del Rosario Cruz calderón, her daughter is 8 years old Ada Mileny Castillo Cruz and her son is called Yeldrin Osmany Castillo Cruz, 8 months old.

What were the good practices that you implemented that made you a winner of the Cup of Excellence program?

It is best to give it a good maintenance always, all year round. a good cleanliness not to let it grow a lot of weeds, you have to be careful to clean it, remove plants that are affecting the plant, apart from that you also need the pleasant cool climate so the coffee absorbs it.

What do you think of the cup of excellence program? Have you participated before / What do you think about participating?

I have heard that the cooperative had participated in the cup of excellence, but I have never been in previous times and nowadays, as a small producer, I feel happy because they have taken me into account. Very grateful, for receiving a letter that I had never received and thanks to PRODECOOP because they continue to support the members of the cooperative.

Why your coffee is a quality coffee? What do you have to say for the customers?

That they continue buying the coffee, that people should look beyond the process, to look at the families and all the effort we make.