Carlos Mejía, Finca Las Minas
Carlos Sr. and Carlos Jr. love their farm... And it's clear that it loves them too.
Finca Las Minas shines like a jewel in the surrounding landscape. The land is situated in a remote area, a half-hour drive from the nearest village, where the Mejía family lives. It is bordered on three sides by forest, a forest that always provides ample water for the coffee plants and maintains a temperate climate—never too hot, and certainly never too cold.
Even on the farm itself, there is ample shade, provided by local trees, as well as by the banana plants that grow 6 to 8 meters tall. There are also some citrus trees, to provide food for both the family and their employees. During the harvest season, between 50 and 60 people are employed at Finca Las Minas. Pickers, of course, but also people who work in the wet processing, and even a cook to ensure everyone is properly fed after a hard day's work.
Things haven't always been as good as they are now. Carlos's father is a third-generation producer and was extremely poor as a child. His grandfather was already growing coffee in the 1950s, but could barely make a living from it, and Carlos's father always went barefoot, eating twice a day if he was lucky, and nothing at all on bad days.
He was never able to study, apart from a few years in primary school, and knew that to ensure a stable future for his own family, he would have to invest everything he had in working hard, growing good coffee, and educational opportunities for his three children.
Now, Carlos Jr. and his brother are civil engineers, and his sister is a psychologist. Little by little, the family has been able to expand their family farm and now owns 35 hectares of fertile land where they cultivate various coffee varieties. Carlos Jr. works alongside his father on a daily basis, while his brother and sister help out during the peak season.
The Mejía family has also built their own wet mill, a mechanical dryer, and a covered patio for storing the pulp, which is used to fertilize the coffee plants a few months after each harvest. Now, thanks to seven decades of experience and knowledge acquired over four generations, the family is able to cultivate consistent, homogeneous, high-quality coffees.
Through extraordinary effort and perseverance, they've come a long way since Carlos Sr. was a barefoot, rarely hungry young boy. But that doesn't mean they're resting on their laurels. On the contrary, the family is as close-knit and motivated as ever. And besides, a fifth generation will be eager to take the reins before they know it, so the current generation had better keep going, growing, and shining.
Property details
35 hectares at between 1500 and 1650 meters .
Shade provided by local trees, banana trees and some citrus trees.
Main varieties: Lempira , Catimore , Pacas , Colombia , Parainema , Obata . A little bit of AnaCafé14 .
This farm is certified ORG , fair trade and RFA .
