5 COYOTE BLANCO-SAC UTIÚ Guatemala 2023

The Sierra de las Minas area is a complex mountainous chain formation covering an area of 242,642 hectares (2,426 km2) with an also complex and rich biodiversity and microclimates. Its name is due to its jade, marble and other mineral quarries. In 1990 the Guatemalan government declared a protected biosphere area of 143,000 acres. Several No Government Organizations, both international and Guatemalan participate in its protection and management. It is the habitat for 885 animal species including birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. There are 63 permanent rivers in the reserve. Its spectacular forest includes oaks, pines, pinabete (Guatemalan firs) and many other species, plus fungi, bromeliads, orchids, etc.
On a very early morning, I was searching for an area to plant various different varieties, amongst others, Gesha and Kalibus (natural and spontaneous crossing). In a very short path, I saw a very beautiful dog with its fur almost white. I asked my field foreman, who was hiking with me, who owned that gorgeous animal. When we paid better attention, we realized that it wasn’t a dog, but a majestic Coyote. When we cleaned and prepared the site to begin planting, and being that this fraction of land still hadn’t a name, the new place was named Sac Utiú, which in Maya language means White Coyote in honor of that unique and unforgettable Coyote.
Sac Utiú – Coyote Blanco (Sac Utiú means Coyote Blanco, in english: White Coyote) is an annex of Kalibus La Sierra who story begins several years prior to Sierra de las Minas being a reserve, specifically on July 3, 1982. More than a farm it is really a coffee plantation integrated into the habitat and ecosystem. Most of the coffee work is developed in the buffer zone. Kalibus, main farm, participated actively in the first workshop for the development and management of the newly Sierra de las Minas Reserve promoted by Del Valle University of Guatemala. There is also an area in the farm destined to being inscribed as a private natural reserve. There is a part of the farm located in the core zone of the Sierra de las Minas reserve. Most of the trees planted in the farm are indigenous trees of the area.
The farm coffee is selectively picked, its coffee is all washed with pure water from water springs in the property, and then it is processed in the wet mill of the farm. Many workers and their families benefit from the farm jobs. Sustainability and the respect for the ecosystem is strongly stressed in the farm management.