Balthazar Cabrera, Finca El Cañal and El Nacimiento

I am incredibly fortunate to have one of the most precious and pristine parts of the land in our region. Where my coffee grows, no one has ever used any chemicals. You can smell the difference, but more importantly, you can see it clearly in the topsoil. There are always plenty of decomposing leaves from the surrounding trees, which make excellent natural fertilizer.

And when you dig into the soil with your fingers, about a centimeter or two deep, you can see that the old, small branches that once fell from the trees have turned white. The white "mold" you see provides nutrients and strengthens the coffee plants.

There's also a stream that runs through my land, providing plenty of water year-round. Even during the dry season, there's enough to keep the plants well-nourished. Next to my coffee, I grow tomatoes to diversify my income. We also roast our own coffee. In fact, we dry it naturally in our yard, leaving the pulp on for quite some time—long enough for the beans to absorb all the fruity and honeyed flavors. Then my wife roasts the coffee at home. Our children are still very young; one was born recently, and the other is two years old. So it will be many years before they work here with me, but it's something I already dream about. It would be wonderful if they could inherit my land and continue the work my grandfather started many decades ago.