Wilson Morán, Finca La Montañita

In our village and region, we have many second and third generation coffee farmers…

In some families, people have been growing coffee for four generations. But I’m a fifth generation farmer and that is much rarer, even here, in the heart of Ocotepeque.

To this day, my grandfather likes to tell anecdotes about his own grandfather. About how his grandfather paid 2 cents of a lempira to workers who picked a bucket of coffee. Now, we pay 30 lempira, an unfathomable 1,500 times more. And still, workers only make around the minimum wage; our currency has simply devaluated enormously.

Anyway, my family – the generations that preceded my own - is my greatest example. My parents taught me everything they knew about coffee, and they transmitted to me their passion for this delicious, black liquid and all the secrets that surround it.

Now, it’s my turn to transmit my knowledge and my love to my son, who has already made it clear that he wishes to become part of the sixth generation. Fortunately, we are able to evolve and continuously improve our harvest. My wife and I only own 0,7 hectares of land, so we need to do all that we can to maximize the yield, as well as the quality.  

We have to overcome many hurdles, like for instance the terrible state of our roads, if you can even call them roads, and the working conditions are often difficult, with lots or rain or – the contrary – drought that lasts too long.

But we have learned to process and prepare micro-lots and that compensates for all our efforts. In years past, we had to sell those through intermediairies but now that I am a member of Cafesmo, I am very hopeful to improve our possibilities to work in more direct ways. Also, the micro-lots make me proud of what I do. Without wanting to sound judgemental, it’s much more rewarding on a personal level than just producing commercial coffee that disappears into the masses.

So, in the years ahead, I want to nurture direct trade, I want to prepare my son for his future as a proud sixth generation coffee grower, and I want to try to save enough money to buy a bit more land. For my wife and I, but also for our son.

Farm facts

We own 0,7 hectares of land and we produce two varietals: pacas and lempira. Shadow is provided by pine trees, but also by cypresses, yuca, and musáceas trees.

 Our finca is certified Fair Trade as well as Organic.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.