Coto Brus | Costa Rica
History
The plantation is located along the southern border of Costa Rica with Panama in the southern most coffee growing region known as “Coto Brus.” This growing region is named after the indigenous Brunca tribes “Coctus and Brusi.” Coffee was first planted in the region in 1949.
Hacienda Rio Negro, named after a river that flows through the farm, was planted in 1955 by Mr. Luis Wachong Lee. Mr. Lee, a Chinese immigrant, managed the farm until 1991 when the land was sold to the Volcafe Group. The Volcafé Group controlled the farm from 1991 until its acquisition by La Minita Corp in 2006.
In 2001, Hacienda Rio Negro became the first farm in Costa Rica to become Rainforest Alliance Certified and in 2001 it represented over 10% of the land of all of the Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms in the world.
Geography
Rio Negro is located about half an hour east of the town of Sabalito in the southern most part of Costa Rica along the border of Panama. The plantation is located directly next to Parque Nacional La Amistad. Parque Nacional La Amistad is the largest forest-protected area in the country, consisting of over 485,000 acres in Costa Rica and extending south of the border with more than 500,000 protected acres in Panama.
The plantation now consists of a total of 1,813 acres of land of which 890 acres are currently in production. There are 815 acres of natural forest preserve, 90+ acres of reforestation and the infrastructure (roads, housing, nursery, etc.) consumes around 40 acres.
The altitude of Hacienda Rio Negro ranges from 3,600 feet to its highest point at 4,125 feet. The station house and our Beneficio Rio Negro are located at the bottom of the valley at an altitude of 3,600 feet.
Coffee Plantings
There are approximately 890 acres of coffee in production. We have four different cultivars of coffee under cultivation; Caturra, Catuai, Centroamericano H1, Obata, with the majority of the trees being Catuai and Caturra.
We plant approximately 2,000 trees per acre on the farm depending upon the geography of the area being planted and the variety of tree used. This results in a total of about 1,800,000 trees on the farm.
We employ a one in three pruning system to maintain the consistent health and productivity of the coffee trees. Highly skilled employees monitor the coffee trees and prune one row every three years as necessary. This will encourage the tree to begin new growth. One year after this cutting, the tree is shaped maximize its continued growth. All of this work is performed using hand tools. Each year approximately 463,000 trees are pruned.
After fifteen to twenty years, the trees become exhausted and are replaced with trees from our nursery. This nursery is located on a small, protected area of the farm that is on top of the ridge allowing the young trees to receive ample sunlight for optimal growth. The nursery trees are nurtured for one year prior to being transplanted to the main farm. In a typical year, we transplant about 140,000 trees.
We use the fast growing broad leaf Poro tree is our predominate shade tree. In addition to the poro, we use a wide variety of shade trees that are indigenous to the region surpassing the regulations required by the Rainforest Alliance certification standards. These trees are planted on a grid of varying density depending on the light requirements and need for temperature control in each individual section of the farm.
Growing Cycle
We produce one crop of coffee each year. For us, the cycle begins with the first rains of the year. These rains normally occur sometime between the end of February and the beginning of March The timing of the first rain is essential, for it is the rain that signals the tree to begin flowering.
Approximately ten days after the initial rains, small honeysuckle-like flowers form on the trees. Millions of flowers are produced in a spectacular display. The entire farm looks like it is covered in freshly fallen snow. It is a fleeting event, for a few days after they appear the flowers whither and fall off the trees. The flowering is of critical importance to the coffee crop, for the node where each flower formed will produce a single coffee cherry, and within this cherry are the coffee seeds which will become the coffee bean. If the flowering is adversely affected by the weather, pollination will not occur, no cherry will form and there will be no coffee.
From the onset of the initial rains, we enter into the seven month rainy season. During the rainy season, there will typically be four to six hours of rainfall every day. These rains nurture the trees and encourage the growth and development of the green coffee cherries. The rains also have the potential to create huge problems of road and soil erosion. You will notice that all of the coffee is planted on terraces interspersed with complex water drainage channels. Thousands of man hours are required during the rainy season to control erosion and maintain the road system of the farm.
All sections of the farm are soil tested annually, and we base our fertilization formulas on the results of these tests. We are careful to use the minimum amount of product necessary to achieve production, and we apply it to the base of each tree three times a year.
With the end of the rainy season comes the ripening of the coffee cherries. The large green cherries begin to turn either red or yellow and fill with the sweet mucilage (honey) that surrounds the seeds. Unlike the flowering, the ripening of the fruit is slow and uneven. Because of this, harvesting the fruit must be performed carefully. Only the ripe fruit is picked, leaving the still unripe fruit for subsequent pickings. We pick each tree on the farm up to five times to harvest the fruit.
The crop cycle of the farm ends with the “repela”, or the final picking of the trees. This usually occurs at the end of January, and during this pass, all of the coffee cherries, both ripe and unripe, are removed from the trees, preparing the trees for the next year’s cycle.
Farm Infrastructure
The terrain of the farm is moderate, and we move a great deal of weight in coffee fruit. To aid in the transport of the coffee and to provide access to all areas of the farm, there are a total of about 30 kilometers of internal road system.
As well as the office and storage buildings, there are 13 housing units within the farm. In addition there are 5 large picking quarters that house 64 people each. These quarters have showers, indoor plumbing, and cooking facilities for pickers who live too far away to travel every day. All of the water used in these facilities is fed by springs and is perfectly safe to drink.
In addition to the offices, clinic, and housing, we have Beneficio Rio Negro. Originally built in the 1950s, the mill is located across from the station house. Beneficio Rio Negro was completely renovated prior to the 2007-2008 harvest and is powered by our own 200kw hydroelectric generator with a capacity in excess of 30,000 ff per year.
During the renovation, many improvements were made to the mill. We added a Biomass furnace that uses parchment as a fuel instead of wood along with six new horizontal dryers or “guardiolas”, increased silo capacity, a new screen sorter and gravitational tables. A new cupping room was developed to maintain the quality standards set by La Minita. Not one bean of coffee is shipped from Rio Negro without prior quality testing and approval. Basically, Beneficio Rio Negro was rebuilt from the ground up to accommodate the exacting standards expected by the staff and clients of La Minita.
The People
We have a core of 50 full time employees including; managers, farm workers, clerical staff, drivers and maintenance personnel. Farm management assists the workers outside of farm life. We contribute to a matching saving fund for each worker and offer low cost loans to assist workers in need. The workers also have an association, ASECATTICA, that organizes an at cost commissary for major staple items, trips, and soccer teams.
Our own medical clinic is located on the farm near the administration building. A doctor staffs this clinic two days a week to administer to the needs of the workers and their families. We also have a dentist at the farm three days a week to attend to the dental needs of the farm community. The goal of this clinic is to provide preventative care. Detailed records of the medical histories of every person on the farm are kept for future reference.
The farm management built a day care for the children ages 2 to 11. Hacienda Rio Negro also supports the local school with supplies and uniforms for the children of the farm workers.
Milling
At the bottom of Hacienda Rio Negro, you will find our mill Beneficio Rio Negro. The mill was completely renovated in 2007 to modernize and implement more environmentally-friendly equipment. Recently, we installed Penagos depulpers to reduce water usage at Beneficio Rio Negro.
