El Liquidambal - Honduras 2012 Verified listing

Farm’s name and location:

El Liquidambar farm is located in the Cedritos community, municipality of Santiago de Puringla in the Department of La Paz. It has an altitude of 1550 meters above sea level and is 90 kilometers from the city of La Paz, departmental capital. The farm is managed under an agroforestry system under shade and is focused in the environmental conservation of soil and water resources. It also has a protected forest area of timber and fruit trees.
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 grew up helping my father Mr. Otilio Hernandez Caceres in the activities related to farm management, especially in the coffee’s wet milling process, and at age 18 my dad gave me a plot of land with coffee of approximately 1.5 hectares with which I started and continued investing that now allow me to plant 7 hectares of coffee. I produce about 100 QQ of coffee of the varieties Catuai, Pacas, Bourbón and Typica. I have my wife’s support with the farm management since it’s our main source of income. We have two small children ages 8 and 3.How many persons work in your farm, family members, permanent employees and temporary employees? We have a permanent employee and hire around 20 workers to pick the harvest, I personally do the milling process and the drying process is done by 2 family members. What natural resources conservation practices do you follow in the farm? 1 – The coffee is grown under the shade of forest trees, besides planting in curves at level to minimize the erosion of the soil.
2 – There is waste water management treatment for the milling process so the water returns without pollution to the rivers.
3 –There is solid waste management treatment with the composting process.
What is the shade percentage and the varieties found in your farm? All the coffee in my farm is under regulated shade and I use for shade Guama (Inga), Liquidambar and fruit trees. What type of fertilization process do you use in your farm? I use organic fertilization (coffee pulp) and two chemical fertilizations yearly after undergoing a soil analysis and getting feedback from the soil analysis lab from IHCAFE.What type of management do you use in your farm (traditional, semi-technical, technical?)The management of the farm is semi-technical.
Are you part of an association or cooperative? I am a member of Origin Denomination Marcala (DOP-Marcala) which has about 2000 coffee growers members, we collaborate among ourselves with the cultivation management practices and also form coffee micro lots which we sell to international buyers /Australia and Japan) who visit our area in coordination with DOP-Marcala and IHCAFE. What is the secret for winning this competition (describe the preparation process of the competing lot)?1 – The geographical location of my farm and the environmental conditions.
2 – Good planting, harvesting and milling practices3- Training the Harvest and mill processing staff. 4 – Harvesting coffee at the optimum ripeness.
5- Drying the coffee with solar dryers since coffee needs to be dried always, even when there is rainy weather. How does it feel to be a winner of the Cup of Excellence? I feel lucky for receiving an award my first time with third place in the Cup of Excellence, very happy and satisfied that all my efforts to preserve the quality of the coffee grown in my farm have been awarded in the Cup of Excellence 2012, and I am very grateful with IHCAFE for all the technical and logistical support given throughout the competition. Who prepares your coffee for exportation? (Explain how you sell it and to whom)All the members of Origin Denomination who participated in the Cup of Excellence, we negotiate our coffee with international buyers (Australia and Japan) and the Exporter “CACTRIL” from Trinidad, Santa Barbara prepared the coffee.
What is your opinion of the Cup of Excellence? 1 – It benefits the grower.
2 – It motivates growers and promotes the quality of our coffee.
3 – It helps the grower get an economic profit. 4- It is an excellent opportunity to find an international buyer and establish possible future business relationships. What has been your experience in the Cup of Excellence? It is my first time and I am very happy to have won 3rd place.