Constantino Mena, Fincas El Ceibo - El Chaperno - El Ocote - El Lesquin - El Guachipilin

Some twenty five years ago, around 1985, I planted my first coffee trees. The word tree must be stressed, as indeed these trees, which we used to call ‘café indio’, easily grew five, six meters high. We used ladders to pick the beans!

I was a first generation coffee farmer and although I have eight children, I still work on my own. Several of my children decided to migrate to the United States, and while some others live only a stone’s throw away in the nearest town, they do not work on the land with me. It’s too small so sustain so many people anyway.  

That said, I like my work. The proceeds are mediocre, at best, but the freedom to decide what I do and when, the surrounding nature, and the agreeable climate year round make up for much of the hardship. And regardless of how much I like the job, I am admittedly also getting a bit older, and I have now decided to take every Sunday off, except during the harvest season. It’s a blessing to have one day off every week, for it allows me to spend some time at home, and to enjoy a much needed rest. 

I’m looking forward to working in a more direct way with one or even several roasters internationally. Of course I hope that this improves my income, but it’s also rewarding to know where your coffee ends up and it will be interesting and hopefully helpful to receive feedback from the roaster or even the end consumer.

Farm facts:

3,2 hectares all five plots combined, all located between 1,120 and 1,312 meters.

Varieties Lempira, Catimor, Parainema.

Abundant shadow, mostly from local trees that grow on the land naturally since times immemorial like guamo and pepeto. Also, to a much lesser degree, fruits like banana, lemon and oranges.

The farm is Fair Trade, organic and RFA certified.