Las Termopilas - Nicaragua 2007

“Las Termopilas” Estate, Esteli Milton Canales Sevilla In the province of Esteli you find a town right in the hillsides of the steep mountains. It is here where the farm Las Termopilas it is located. This farm holds the 4th. Place of the “cup of excellence”. We find the young Milton Canales, taking care of a furrow of new coffee trees. “In our farm we use earthworm culture (humus) to feed the land... it has been proven that the plants give a good production and an excellent quality fruit” says Milton. This farm is 1,400 meters (4593 feet) above sea level and its height offers a delicious climate. Las Termopilas has more than 100 workers during the picking season and due to its extraordinary management this farm has signed directly a good contract with a roaster from United States, who buys more that half of their total coffee production. “Geoff Watts an American entrepreneur from Intelligetsia Coffee arrived a month ago and he was at the coffee plantations confirming the requirements: from the environmental observance to the use of compost, a system which has giving me a good result, (cattle manure and coffee pulp and parchment)” …I have a cattle farm in another place and I use their faeces which I bring to the coffee farm and I treat them also using coffee pulp. Milton shows us all the diplomas that he has won in different quality contests. At the same time in order to avoid contamination his younger brother Norman puts together different wastes to bring it to the municipal garbage dump.