Guatemala
Last year, we embarked on a five-year fertilization program -- Balanced Plant NutritionTM -- that seeks to double the yield of the farm's coffee plants. This cross-cultural exchange has us working with Karnataka Coffee Estates of India and the Indian company, Ramaday Micronutrients, to assess the results of soil and leaf sampling. By balancing ratios of essential nutrients within the plant, the farmer can maximize the output of the crop. Simply put, if you know what a plant needs, you feed it that, and prolific growth ensues. The long term goal is to teach coffee farmers ways to refine their growing methods, so they learn over time how to get the most from their land without sacrificing soil or air quality.
Additionally, we are working to earn Rainforest Alliance certification for Finca El Paternal, which would make this farm the first in the area to be certified. Rainforest Alliance works to integrate productive agriculture, biodiversity conservation and human development.
Previous Projects in Guatemala
Farm: Finca el Paternal
Project: Water Treatment Facility
At the urging of respected plantation owner and grower, Miguelina Villatoro del Merida, we invested proceeds from the Farm Family Direct™ program to design a much needed water treatment facility at her El Paternal farm. The facility sends leftover water from coffee production through a series of filtering tanks. The end result is water that can be reused several times, and clean water is returned to the river free of contaminants. The state-of-the-art facility is now looked to as a successful model, and tours are arranged so growers throughout the region can learn about the benefits of water treatment and conservation.
This program is making strides
toward the Millennium Development Goal to develop a global partnership for
development.
This program is
making strides toward the Millennium Development Goal to ensure
environmental sustainability.Video
Guatemala Grower Blog
Guatemalan Fertilization Project
September 16, 2008Andres Castro explains the basic principals behind the fertilization project in Guatemala
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Visiting El Paternal and the Huehue Coffee Region in Guatemala
September 04, 2008Andres Castro gives us an update on the Balanced Plant Nutrition project in progress at El Paternal farm.
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Global Partnership: Portland Roasting → El Paternal → IMT India → Anacafe
August 29, 2008El Paternal, in Huehuetenango, is our Farm Friendly Direct partner in Guatemala. We are committed to supporting a five-year fertilization program that would not only enhance the health of the plants but also aim to increase the volume of production and quality of the coffee. You may recall our last project here was designing and installing a wastewater treatment facility.
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New Update from El Paternal farm
June 20, 2008Andres fills us in on the latest developments of our Farm Friendly Direct agronomy project in Guatemala.
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Traveling in Guatemala Part III: Last Day
August 17, 2007Andres Castro visits Anacafe Coffee cupping room, which concludes his trip to the Guatemala coffee growing region.
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A letter from Miguelina
August 15, 2007A letter from our grower in Guatemala, Miguelina.
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Traveling in Guatemala Part II: Heading up to El Paternal farm.
August 15, 2007Our Quality Control Engineer, Andres Castro,visits El Paternal farm.
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Traveling into Guatemala: Part I
August 08, 2007Andres Castro travels to Guatemala.
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Progress in Guatemala
July 23, 2007This is a short update about our Project in Guatemala and additional information related to Balanced Plant Nutrition (BNP).
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More Information on Fetilization
July 13, 2007Andres Castro provides an update on our fertilization project in Guatemala. He also gives a brief overview on the process and why soil and leaf analysis is so important to coffee growers.
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Balanced Plant Nutrition project at El Paternal Farm in Guatemala.
July 06, 2007Andres Castro updates us on our most recent Farm Friendly Direct project in Guatemala.
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