Alex Valle
In 1983 I began my first formal job at the local school as a motivated and energetic young teacher...
From those early days, I taught thousands of children to read and write, to divide and multiply, and I tried to help them find their way in our world, until I retired, somewhat nostalgically, in 2018.
That doesn't mean I haven't dedicated myself to the love of my life: coffee. On the contrary, I grew up among our family's coffee plants and learned the skills from my father and grandparents. We were poor, very poor, and I had to help out on our small plot of land before I felt ready for it.
However, I later felt grateful because I was able to absorb so much knowledge and learn so quickly when I was still a child. Thirty years ago, I was able to buy 0.7 hectares of land with the money I had saved from my salary as a teacher.
Little by little, I was able to buy more land, and now my son, my daughter, and I own a beautiful 42-hectare coffee plantation. My children, Alex and Marcela, are civil engineers. I am incredibly proud that they were able to receive a much better education than I did, even though I taught them to read and write when they were young.
Alex and Marcela are forced to dedicate part of their time to their work as engineers because most of our plants were destroyed by coffee rust in 2012, and just when we had finally recovered, coffee prices plummeted. In the 2018/2019 season, we earned about $4,500 from our coffee, a pittance for 42 hectares and with so many mouths to feed in our family.
But we are passionate about our coffees and extremely persistent. We are thinking of organizing tours of our beautiful farm with lunch on our terrace and, of course, a selection of our own coffees. We may also start roasting our beans to offer them in the Honduran market at the premium price they deserve. Or we could open a coffee shop in town to offer customers a relaxing time while they enjoy one of the specialty coffees we grow.
Yes, we are the Valle family and we are going to succeed! Sincerely,
Alex Valle.
Property details
42 hectares with plenty of natural shade. Old pine trees cover much of our plantation and the surrounding woodland, creating a cooler and somewhat humid climate. Abundant plane trees, orange trees, and linden trees provide additional shade and are also used for personal consumption.
Pacas , Icatú, and Anacafé 14 , but the dominant ones are Parainema and Obata .
The farm covers a range of altitudes, between 1,200 and 1,550 meters . We begin harvesting our coffees at the lower altitudes in late October and finish with the beans at the higher altitudes towards the beginning of March, which guarantees a long-lasting, high-quality harvest.
While we offer certified coffee ( Fair Trade and Organic ), we are also proud to offer micro-lots of specific varieties. Request a sample if you'd like to try one of our coffees.
This farm is Rainforest Alliance certified . Our products solve real problems with clean design and honest materials.
