Farm Friday, January 13th, 2023
More Coffee Farms in Honduras
This is my second week in Honduras and I was able to visit a remote mountain community called El Sute where I saw the farms of four of the coffee farming families in the cooperative we work with. The trip was all about visiting people and I might have photos of them later but for now I am sharing photos of the farms only.
The four hour drive on questionable roads had some amazing views. Hector and his trusty antique Land Cruiser guided us safely.
The first farm was Don Chico and his family. Doña Moncha and Don Chico hosted us overnight too. He needed to show us their new de-pulping set-up. Most farmers take the freshly picked coffee and remove the fruit part to leave the seed with a sweet mucus-like coating. Then they ferment the seeds and wash with water to remove the “honey.” After it is washed, they spread the seeds out to dry, either on a cement patio or on screens.
Don Chico’s coffee is looking very good. Their farm is at a higher elevation than the farms I visited last week and they are just now starting to harvest. Notice all the green fruit.
Outside of the place where I slept, Don Chico has a board with an outline of the vision for the farm, including words and drawings. The board was designed in 2012 and everything that is on the board is on the farm. I want one of these for our farm in Wisconsin!
We visited the house of Don Polo. His small house was made using the ancient technique called “bahareque” which involves making a cage out of sticks and wood and filling it with rocks and then packing it with mud. Solid.
From there we visited Doña Juana. This is her drying shed.
Some coffee is flowering now, out of season.
We visited Orlin, a young man whose passion for organic coffee is evident. He did a tasting session with us, comparing different coffees.
Orlin has a wood fired coffee roaster that he uses for a business selling coffee locally.
Orlin has learned not to depulp his coffee. He dries it with the fruit and honey. It goes slow but the resulting flavor is different.
This is Don Chico’s patch. The shade trees are guama, which are nitrogen-fixing legumes. Notice how green the leaves are!
This is the washed coffee at Don Chico’s brother Don Arnulfo’s farm. Don Arnulfo wasn’t home when we visited, which left his brother miffed.
Dogs are everywhere, providing security and alarm services.
This is someone else’s farm. No shade trees!
On the way home we stopped at a farm and Hector bought a huge chunk of petrified wood. They had a nice garden.
© 2023 Andrew Gaertner. All rights reserved.
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