Christmas 2009 at Finca El Peten - 12/09

The holiday season was welcomed with high spirits this year on the farm. All employees were invited for Christmas dinner on the farm. Afterwards, a Christmas basket filled with essentials such as rice, beans, soap, etc., was raffled off for the temporary employees.

Each permanent employee received their own Christmas basket, however those last in line had to perform a dance with Scarleth in order to receive the basket.

It was a lot of fun and a ton of laughs. An additional basket was donated to the local church.

Jason Z. Puracal

Finca El Peten at SCAA conference 2009 in Atlanta - 04/09

John Thompson recently returned from Atlanta and the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual conference at the GA World Congress Center.  Every year, a different country receives special attention and this year Nicaragua was the featured country.  At the welcoming reception, we heard from Mario Salinas (Minister of the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute, INTUR) and a variety of other non-inspiring speakers. The highlight was actually the Embassador from Ethiopia that shared with us the progress his country has made in developing regulations, standards, and trade negotiations with the rest of the world.  There has been a lot of dialogue about Ethiopian coffee as it’s indeed the birthplace of coffee and feels a strongly about it’s inherent rights and priveleges as such.

After the speakers, we attended a cocktail party complete with a beautiful display of Nicaraguan folkloric dancing, free Flor de Cana rum drinks, and lots of networking.  In fact, the networking we began that night was an indicator of what benefits lay ahead during the following 3 days of the conference.  JT met up with a few hotel operators in Nicaragua that are very interested in selling our coffee at their establishments, as well as connecting us with the small hotel operators association of Nicaragua in order to promote eco-tourism in Northern Nicaragua.

Although we don’t run our eco-lodge as a public hotel, it was good to see folks with similar intentions of sustainable development via eco-tourism.  Along the same lines, JT met Patricia Valiente who is a consultant out of El Salvador who has developed tourism “routes” in El Salvador.  They discussed best practices and lessons learned from developing eco-tourism routes focused on sustainability.

The next day the expo opened and they spent the afternnoon chatting with Alan Odom from Interamerican Coffee, who has bought our coffee this year.  Great guy with great intentions for us.  He understands our approach to coffee and the local community and is connecting us with the like minded business contacts.  He introduced JT to the president of Elan Organic Coffees. She founded the International Women’s Coffee Alliance and invited JT to breakfast the following day to celebrate the signing in of Nicaragua, the 4th chapter along with Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

JT met the president of the Nicaraguan chapter at that breakfast presentation and they are very interested in learning more about how we work with women from our local community Los Robles, Jinotega.  Womens groups had a very big presence at the conference and we looking forward to working with these organizations this year.  Grounds for Health is an organization that reached out to over 1,000 women in Matagalpa and Jinotega last Fall through their detection and treatment of Cervical Cancer programs.  They might be able to come to our farm to do the same kind of program this year, with fewer people of course!

There were amazing people doing great things for the community… in fact, the Specialty Coffee industry really seems to be a group of folks wanting to make a difference and very open to collaboration and sharing ideas.  On the business side, JT furthered conversation with a roaster in Atlanta who brings in coffee from Nicaragua in several containers annually.  We are working out the details for him to bring a couple hundred pounds of coffee into Atlanta… We would like to begin a little cottage industry for US distribution this year.  We’ll have our labels and bags ready soon, so be on the look out for possible markets.

Nicaragua’s President Ortega visits Finca El Peten - 03/09

We had a big surprise this weekend when President Daniel Ortega showed up at the farm by helicopter to give a speech on self-sustainability and organic agriculture! The president called the farm a “fantastic model of diversification”. The theme was women in agriculture and self sufficient food production for Nicaragua. The minister of agriculture had gone looking for model sustainable farms in northern Nicaragua and found ours to be the most impressive.

They informed us on Thursday and the mass of army soldiers, policemen, and set up personnel all started arriving on Friday. They surrounded the farm with perimeter security and proceeded to set up an elaborate stage and tent camp. It was quite impressive. The dignitaries started flowing in Saturday morning.  Ambassadors from Switzerland, Taiwan, Luxembourg, ministers of agriculture, education, rural development, etc. and the heads of some UN delegations participated first in a discourse on how to more efficiently help poor farmers.

The government has been giving out “abonos” of a cow, two goats, ten chickens, a rooster, and a pig to each of some 3,500 of the poorest families. Agreements were reached by providers and administrators that more education, evaluation of capacities and follow up on results were necessary. Finca El Peten will participate as a training center and model farm for the many diversified disciplines of permaculture and organic food production. The minister of agriculture is on board to take Nicaragua toward self sufficiency in an organic way. We are very excited as this is exactly what we have been promoting.

The press was there in a big way with national live broadcast. It rained right through the event and remarkably everything went smoothly.  Their teams were well prepared and efficient, setting up and breaking down the elaborate stage and decorations in record time. Romualdo and our team handled things very well on our end as well to make the event a big success.

Our friends from Peace passers were also on hand and made a donation of some 20 uniforms and several balls to the local girls soccer team in Los Robles. Their support is welcome and much appreciated in our effort to help kids in the local community.

Finca El Peten hosted a party for the outgoing mayor - 01/09

JT and I hosted a party for the outgoing mayor and all associated dignitaries this weekend at El Peten. The thing was a big success and a couple hundred people showed up. We are establishing great community ties and developing quite a reputation. There were at least five reporters, two from TV stations, and many interviews were conducted. Awards and plaques were handed out and long, emotional speeches were the flavor of the day.

We took everybody for a tour through the farm, including the carpentry shop, the reception area, the bar/restaurant, the hotel and the tasting room, where our potential international coffee buyers can come and cup the regions coffees. It is one of the potential markets for our hacienda that we feel has great promise. The tour included the vegetable and herb gardens, chickens, cows, goats, bees, pigs, rabbits, and all the associated products that they generate. We also showed them the fruit orchards and the precious wood production that is initiated in our nurseries.

The model demonstrations are critical to provide an impressive image of what we offer and what we are doing. All the disciplines must have viable working examples that people can easily tour and appreciate. Romualdo made a nice path down to the boat launch last week with bamboo railings, also made a floating dock with some 50 gallon barrels, quite impressive!

New Years party at Finca El Peten - 01/09

We hosted a New Year´s party for the new mayor, vice mayor, ministers of government agencies, and head of the local army base plus a few local dignitaries and big growers. It was a big success. Socios JT, Austin, Jason, and Byron were all in attendance. Everyone feasted on chicken and a couple pelibuey from Finca Las Nubes that we barbecued up. After the feast everybody went for a ride on the boat around lake Apanas and let the general’s kids drive the boat. They were stoked and we’re hoping that they return the favor by giving us helicopter rides sometime.

We put forth our mission to them and we are well received. They even talked about the possibility of putting up a health center in the name of El Peten. There is also talk of constructing an organic agricultural school for 200 students with classrooms, labs, housing, etc. We are visiting potential agreements with the mayor and the government in upcoming meetings. It can do nothing but bring prestige to the farm.

We made a lot of great connections with very useful, well positioned government administrators and several farmers that will be sharing cocoa seeds with us among other things. Romualdo, the administrator did a great job organizing the thing with Byron. We are lucky to have him.

International Permaculture Seminar at Finca El Peten - 08/08

Eighty-five agricultural engineers from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia, Brazil and other parts of Centro America descended on Finca El Peten for a two week diplomado to hear the wisdom of Eugenio Grass, Jairo Restrepo, Sebastian Pinheiro, Chico Meza and our own Byron Corrales on the merits of Permaculture.

Our facility, designed for twenty guests in ten rooms, was put to the test, especially when the power went out day after day mid-course. We superceded with generators and with the help of the local church were able to accommodate everyone.

Participants were split into three groups to be schooled.

Eugenio oriented the engineers in the overall evaluation of the resources, attributes and deficiencies of the land including water retention (dam building), conservation, distribution and purification. Among other things he taught the fundamentals of topographical map-making, reading and sectors in designing the farm.

Sebastian, the chemist, enlightened all to the true structure of life on the planet and how things worked from the molecular to the particulate level. He taught how to make and read chromatogramos of one’s soil, eliminating the need for soil labs. These tools free the farmer from the NPK formula of modern agro-chemical dogma. He stressed the critical nature of our plight here on the planet and gave solid council on the necessary changes we all need to make.

Jairo showed them how to apply that information to make their own fertilizers (bocacci), mineral blocks, organic solutions and a whole host of other incredible practical applications of common sense solutions to organic farming. The presentations were all action packed, informative and all of them imparted humor throughout each session.

Of course the press showed up and immediately ave us up to the minute coverage, all positive, which precipitated the arrival of all kinds of representatives of various organizations including political candidates, Marena (EPA), Intur (tourist bureau) and other neighbors wishing to see what all the fuss was about. We accommodated all comers with a tour of the farm, interviews of the participants and presenters and even a ride on the lake in Celeste, our surf and ski boat. They were all duly impressed!

It all ended with a bangup barbeque of three pelibueys (goat/sheep cross) I brought from from Finca las Nubes where everyone got a chance to party down. They took full advantage!

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El Peten coffee goes to Belgium - 06/08

After transport strikes and in the midst of the first ever Pacific hurricane, I watched as our coffee was sorted by a room full of Nica women and loaded into a container to be shipped off to Belgium. Lucky them! They paid good money for it. We hope to find a buyer with similar social and organic ideals for this next years coffee.

We have saved some green beans here in Nicaragua for sale to those who are looking for quality. Contact us for details.

We are begining construction of our new beneficio. It includes the coffee depulping area, the worm culture building, the gallera where the cows deposit the manure that we mix with the pulp to feed the worms, and the workers quarters and their dining room. We are employing an integrated approach to purifying the water used to wash the coffee that consists of sequential treatment ponds with charcoal, gravel and aquatic plants. Growing coffee on the edge of the lake requires extra care with regard to protecting the environment. We are dedicated to constructing systems that insure a clean and sustainable process.

Finca Java Goes to SCAA Conference - 05/08

Finca Java socios KB, Patty, Byron and I all piled into KBs magic bus this week to go to the SCAA annual conference in Minnesota.

Spirits were high as we drove thru the Grand Tetons, the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands, touring Byron thru the sites.

The show was amazing. The theme this year was sustainable. We met all the major players and made many friends and contacts.

Paul Katzeff with Thanksgiving coffee who has worked years with Byron in organic coffee and started the SCAA, was honored with a life time achievement award. He is the one who started all the cupping labs in Nicaragua with a grant from USAID.

We had a great time with the Nicaragua contingent from Nicacafe including Nick Hopkins who works with them out of Esteli. We really came into this conference at the very top end as Byron is so connected with all the major players. The industry as a whole seems to embrace the principles of fair trade sustainable and in some cases organic. Surprising for a trade organization. There is still much debate as to all the different certifications and their viability vis-a-vis the cost vs. benefit to the producer. Organic is even more up in the air as it requires a major change in the producers methods. They do not want to give up their chemicals until they have proven models of organic profitability. Current organic prices do not support that.

As the future of the planet, clean air and water, depend on the biological regeneration of the soil, we must continue to insist, promote, and convince our fellow producers world wide to follow this model. Byron has the answers. We were very proud that his presentation at the conference was the most useful of all that we attended. We will provide a venue at Finca El Peten for him to pass those answers on to the people of Nicaragua. We must insist that the SCAA continue to do the same on a world wide basis. After all where are they going to spend all the money they make on chemical coffee if there is no more air to breath or water to drink? All of you should be looking for any potential person that you know could be a proud owner of an organic coffee farm on a beautiful lake in Nicaragua.

New Road Into El Peten - 04/08

We finally have a good road now all the way into El Peten! After years of struggling with various agencies, with the help of Plan Japon, we were able to mobilize all the equipment and materials necessary to renovate the 8 km. of road into the farm. We were proud to be able to help provide all the culverts, concrete, sand and labor to install all the drainage for this road. The entire community has publicly acknowledged their deep appreciation for our participation and even publicized it on the local tv station.

Construction on the farm continues and the bar bathrooms and the terrace are looking spectacular. The main hacienda house is coming along and the tasting room is getting tile. All the buildings look fabulous. We can now offer full service for visitors including boating on the lake in “celeste” our surf and ski boat.

As the May permaculture seminar has been postponed, Byron is running some mini seminars for some 25 women. Ruth taught them how to make yogurt yesterday and they will be back May 26, 27 and 28 for training in herbal teas, nectars, vinegar, dried medicinals, etc. We have a good size herb garden going already. We have another 50,000 coffee plants germinating and going into bags this next week. We have a massive amount of material to make bocacci which will fertilize all our plants. I have also purchased another 12,000 hardwood trees to augment the thousands that we have cultivated on the farm. Trees are where it’s at!

Ruth and Giovanni are settling in and getting systems for cleaning and cooking together at the hotel. Ruth is taking off on a trip to South America this week and I am hoping that she will return in August. Until then Giovanni and the two new hotel employees will have to buck up. Come on down to visit and help train them!

We are off to the SCAA coffee conference next week in Minnesota. See you there!

Hotel Opening and Permaculture Seminar - 03/08

We are proud to announce the opening of the hotel at El Peten and our inaugural permaculture seminar. This will take place in the first two weeks of April. We have some 40 participants from Nicaragua and the rest of Central America, many of whom represent co-ops. Several of Byron’s “locos” (professors) from Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia will be teaching their various disciplines from soil photography to rock flour mineral extraction in various workshops over the two weeks.

Simas, the association for sustainable agriculture, will be administering the seminar. They plan to invite all of the local dignitaries including the Minister of Agriculture and the media to inaugurate the opening of what we hope to be the educational center for organic agriculture in the region. We are proud to be sponsoring some of the participants.

The hotel has been outfitted with custom made furniture from Finca Las Nubes. The bar and restaurant features an outdoor grill and seating for up to 40 guests. It is perched on a knoll overlooking the lake and Rio Juijuina. The roads into El Peten are being redone and we have contributed $10,000 toward the project. We are also currently installing primary power lines all the way into the farm. We hope that both of the projects are completed by April 1st.

This year’s coffee harvest was a big success and as luck would have it, coffee prices went up substantially right as we were selling. We are using this windfall to help the community with the road project mentioned above and other projects.

Byron continues to inspire and direct improvements on the farm. Together, with his help and the ongoing administration of seminars on the farm, we hope to put into practice many new experimental methods. These will include bio-dynamic beef (dried and fresh), medicinal herbs and teas, dried and canned fruit, and a myriad of other organic farm products. We contemplate offering continual seminars in all these disciplines.