Wilmer Martínez, Finca La Lima

I’m 22 years old now and inherited my own piece of land when I was 17…

 …from my deceased father. But I started working full time on the land when I was 12. I hated going to school and decided to quit as soon as my parents would let me.

Together, my mom and I have around 3 hectares, and all of it at a relatively high altitude, ranging from 1,650 to 1,760 meters. I feel really fortunate to have a plot that high, because it will be resistant against the ravages of climate change for decades to come, even more so because it is located in the middle of a cool, dense pine forest. 

The downside is that we work and live in a place that is so remote that there is no television, no internet or phone, no connection at all with the world of today. Sometimes this is difficult, it may take up to a week before I receive a message from Cafesmo, or can send an answer to someone who wants to buy some coffee. 

So, to have a connection with the outside world, I sometimes drive down all the way to the nearest village, where a friend lends me his Wi-Fi connection.    

That said, I really like the quietude and peace where we live, and especially when I’m working by myself. I like silence, apart of course from hearing the birds hum, or the leaves of a tree gently moving in the breeze. 

Since we’re members of Cafesmo, we get a better price for our coffee because the farm is now FTO certified, but still it is just enough to pay for all our expenses and scrape by. The we started to prepare our own micro-lots, with my mom, and we managed a 7 bag - 85,5 washed batch this season. You should try it!

Farm facts

Three hectares of land located between 1,650 and 1.760 meters.  Lots of pine forest.

We grow Catuaí and Catimoro.

FTO certified.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.