Week Six - Made it to Costa Rica

I was feeling a bit glum to be leaving Nicaragua, but after being picked up from the airport and driven into San Jose, we passed a very large shopping mall, and I felt a little happier. I am living in more of an studio apartment here, but it's nice, modern and has more of an outdoor area. It is in a gated community, and very safe. Being a 10 minute walk to work, it's a great location.

The area we are based is Tres Rios, a coffee growing region of San Jose, as the city sits at 1200m altitude. The office is built on an ex-coffee plantation, and having only been built two years ago, it is obvious to see the changes in the area. I am told that as the city expands, farmers are now looking at selling their land for malls, offices and houses. This is because they are able to earn more money from the sale of land to developers than they would selling coffee. Very sad, but a reality, especially because Tres Rios coffee is highly regarded and sort after. From the office window you are able to see the coffee mill just down the road, and patches of coffee trees around the block.

I spent my first weekend relaxing, walking around the area, and at a family day of one of my colleagues. It was very cool seeing family life, eating delicious Costa Rican food and hearing about daily life here. Their family is huge, and this was just a bunch of the cousins on one side, which equalled to around 30 people.

On Monday and Tuesday I was in the office learning the history and process of coffee here. Wednesday to Friday was then spent visiting a numerous number of coffee farms, micro mills and mills. They were all very interesting, had their own way of handling coffee and own background stories.

Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto, omelette, fried banana and fried cheese

First farm we visited

New coffee flowers

Water conservation programme in the area

Micro Mill

Standard unit to measure the volume of cherries

Microlot drying beds

Honey dried coffee

With one of the producers

Yellow, Black and White honey processes

Vista Al Valle Finca

Vista Al Valle Finca

Turning the coffee

Sonora Coffee Finca - Measuring the cherry

Sonora Coffee Finca

Aquiares Coffee

Aquiares Finca

Aquiares Finca - old robusta base with grafted arabica top

There's usually a view of a volcano I was told..

Aquiares - with the son of one of the owners and producer, Diego

Small plane ride back from La Cumplida

I was very, very lucky to be offered a plane ride back from La Cumplida instead of the 3 hour chicken bus trip! When they asked if I was keen, I tried to be very subtle in my reply of si, por favor.. but was secretly ridiculously excited. How did they know this is one of my favourite things!

This was a good way to see the country from above, and was really crazy seeing the green, lush mountains and coffee producing areas, versus the dry and flat lower land where the mill and Managua is located. It was also interesting seeing the different housing areas that have developed; the closer to the lake, the more shanty towns and huts there were. This is due to the fact that it is a lot hotter and dryer at the lower altitude, and the land is completely dried up. Nicaragua is full of mountains and volcanos, not unlike NZ. 

The plane ride was an awesome way to end my glorious five weeks in Nicaragua, and am very gutted to be leaving tomorrow. I would never have imagined that I would come to love and admire the country so much in such a short time. Everything about it is beautiful, hospitable, inspiring and a place I would highly recommend anyone to visit. The tourist market is something that is quite new to the country, and while it was nice not seeing many tourists, obviously with tourism comes money and development. On to the next adventure in Costa Rica, where the market and coffee is very different.

La Cumplida

Matagalpa

Crater lake, and lake Nicaragua in the background

Week Five - La Cumplida Finca

I have just got back from spending three days at La Cumplida Farm, a 1500 hectare farm partly owned by Clemente Poncon, whose son is part of the Ecom group (and heads up the Costa Rican office). The owners place high priority on ensuring that their employees receive fair working conditions, and also ensure that the farm shall have only the smallest-possible negative impact on the environment. The entire farm is operated in an environmentally-friendly way, is self-sufficient in electricity and has its own water purification system. During the past few years, 90 houses have been built just outside the farm. These houses might seem very simple but, for the locals, they represent a huge improvement. Previously, they were living in rickety shacks which wouldn't protect them from the rain. Today, they have stable homes made of concrete, with approximately two rooms and electricity, and an outside kitchen with a stove. The farm-workers receive three meals a day and have access to free healthcare.

There is also a school close to the farm. which provides education for the children in the area during the summer, when other schools are closed. The farm also runs a further six schools in the surrounding area in the Matagalpa district.

I stayed in the old farm house onsite, really experiencing farm life. Meals were simple, the water was cold, electricity was scarce, very limited internet and only Spanish was spoken. I throughly enjoyed my few days there, going to bed at 8:30pm and waking up at 5:30am when the sun rose and day started for the workers. I spent the days on a quad bike exploring the farm, going for walks and speaking spanish with the house staff. Unfortunately the coffee harvest was just finishing, but I was able to see the last day of picking and harvesting, and was also able to see the new flowers starting to grow on the trees.

Entertainment on the chicken bus..

Beneficio 

Sorting the coffee cherries

New coffee flowers

View from my bedroom window

Farmhouse