Elida Romero, Finca Ojo de Agüita
Before the great coffee rust outbreak that struck our country in 2013, my husband grew coffee, but we lost everything in a single harvest…
Shortly after, we decided that my husband would risk the perilous journey north to the United States, and I would stay home to raise our children. It was a difficult and heartbreaking decision, but it was also the only viable path for our family. Essentially, we had to choose between starving to death or knowingly separating our children from their father, and we chose the latter.
My husband has been sending money ever since, and in 2019 we decided I would go back to growing coffee. At first, he had to guide me every step of the way and teach me from afar. Now, I go to our farm every morning with great enthusiasm and joy.
When I'm tired or a little under the weather, the tiredness or vague discomfort quickly fades away when I'm on our land. It's inspiring and invigorating. I never feel lonely when I'm there, and I often have lunch near the stream that runs through our property.
And although I've only been growing coffee since 2019, I'm so excited to have sold my first micro-lot in 2021 to a roaster in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Its name is Roasted Ott. Now that I've achieved that, I want to focus much more on "small volume, high quality" coffees in the coming years.
In fact, I'm a third-generation coffee farmer. My grandparents grew coffee and made a living from it, as did my parents. And although my two sons and one daughter have now joined their father in the United States, I still have two adult daughters who live with me and help me a lot during the harvest season.
But the youngest, who is 23 (as of August 2021), is about to open her own coffee shop in the nearest town. She's a barista and will be selling our coffees there. I'm very excited, but also a little terrified. Excited, of course, as any proud mother would be, and terrified because it's such a big undertaking, and although she won't be as far away as her brothers and father, she won't be with me on the farm or at home every day anymore.
Anyway, I'm too busy to really worry, and the few times I do worry, I sit for a while by the stream, or when I'm at home, I have a cup of coffee and sit on the porch to watch the sunset.
Property details
0.7 hectares with large, well-maintained plants. Another 1.4 hectares are still under development.
Altitude 1,220 meters .
Catimor and Parainema cultivation.
There is plenty of natural shade from the pine trees growing in the larger area. There are also some fruit trees and, most importantly, two avocado trees that will feed the family for the first time in 2021.
The farm has Fair Trade , FTO and RFA certifications.
