Las Pen_itas 2017 - Honduras 2017 Verified listing

LOT# 2

Farm: Las Peñitas

Farmer: Jorge Arturo Benitez Miranda

Farm’s name and location:

Las Peñitas farm is located in El Giotillo community in the municipality of Santa Bárbara, Department of Santa Bárbara. It has an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level.

What is your farm’s history? Is your farm a family unit? How long has it belonged to your family? How many members make up your family?

I have this farm four years ago, I worked with my father all my life growing coffee and he gave me a little plot to begin my own farm, after two years I could to buy another plot to complete two hectares. This farm is our family patrimony, my wife and my three children depend totally of its production.

How many persons work in your farm, family members, permanent employees and temporary employees?

My father and I share four employees to do every maintenance activities such fertilization, pruning, weeding, picking, depulping, washing and drying the coffee. During the harvest season all the family join in the picking activity and we have to hire 10 – 20 temporary employees to have the perfect picking process.

What natural resources conservation practices do you follow in the farm?

Given that the farm is a little bit flat it is not necessary to have soil conservation works. But we make a responsible use of fertilizers and pesticides avoid to contaminate our natural resources.

What is the shade percentage and the varieties found in your farm?

We use a 40% of shade in my farm with Guama and Wild Avocado varieties.

What type of fertilization process and rust control do you use in your farm?

I fertilize twice per year using the recommendation of soil analysis of the IHCAFE lab. Generally I use a combination of 12-24-12 and Urea. Rust has been a huge problem for us in the last years, but now we are following the recommendation of the IHCAFE technicians and we use an integral system to keep the rust under critical levels.

What type of management do you use in your farm (traditional, semi-technical, and technical?)

We have a semi-technical production system

Are you part of an association or cooperative?

No, I am participating in COE by myself.

What is the secret for winning this competition (describe the preparation process of the competing lot)?

I think it is a combination of many factor. I have a good altitude and that gives conditions to obtain high quality coffee. The picking is the key, all the pickers are trained to pick just ripe cherries, the depulping process is the same day and after 12 – 14 hours of fermentation we wash the coffee with pure and crystal water from the mountain. The coffee is dried in a natural way in solar drier. It takes more than 15 days to dry the Coffee properly.

How does it feel to be a winner of the Cup of Excellence?

I never expected to win the second place, so I am very happy and I feel blessed with this God present.

Who prepares your coffee for exportation? (Explain how you sell it and to whom)?

For many year my father and I have worked with San Vicente Exporter which help us to get the best coffees and the best market.

What is your opinion of the Cup of Excellence?

It is an excelente program and help us a lot to promove our coffees and get in touch with buyers from the whole world.

What has been your experience in the Cup of Excellence?

This is my first time participating in COE and it is a huge emotion to won the second place.

The property’s characteristics:

The coffee’s characteristics in the Cup of Excellence: