Elmer Mancía Lemus, Finca El Mojón

I’ve been working on my own land for twelve years now, but I started cultivating coffee long before that..

As a young boy, I helped out my father and later I worked with him full time. My dad had his own small plot of land, so I’m a second generation coffee grower.

 Now, I work with my own family. I have a wife and three sons. The lads as well as my wife help out when they can, mostly during the harvest season. We pick the coffee together and while I continue to work the land, my wife and sons focus on the drying process during the day, when I’m not there.

 They also help me with the whole process before bringing the coffee to Cafesmo. I feel fortunate to have my family, for without them I wouldn’t be able to spend enough time on processing quality coffee. I would simply pick the entire harvest and bring it to a cooperative in bulk quantity.

 I’m very proud of my family and also hopeful that at least one of my sons will continue to work with me until I retire, and then takes over the finca. The finca is our source of income, but it is in fact much more than that. Coffee is our livelihood as well as our passion, combined into one. It also allows other people to have an income, when they come to pick beans during the peak of the harvest season.

 When we’ve worked hard for an entire year, and we then hear that a roaster somewhere in a faraway land has bought a some of our coffee, we are filled with pride, and I sometimes try to picture the people who enjoy a cup. Maybe while they’re sitting next to a fireplace because it’s unimaginably cold where they live. Or maybe while sitting on their porch, to enjoy the sunset.

 Even though I do not know them and even though we would probably not understand a word of each other’s language, I am sure that we would have a great time if we were to drink a cup of my coffee together in a cafeteria around the corner of their home, wherever in the world they may live. Coffee connects, coffee helps us grow a bond, regardless of culture and background.

 My wish for the future is to keep improving my finca facilities, for that will help me grow even better coffee and that, in turn, means a more sustainable source of income for my own family, and the next generation.

Farm facts

I grow two hectares of pacas beans at an altitude of around 1,700 to 1,850 meter and my finca is Fair Trade as well as Organic certified.

 Shadow is provided by pepeto trees and liquidambar plants, which grow around 4 meters high.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.