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As Kalu Yala interns we are trying to learn as much as possible about sustainability, an environmentally friendly lifestyle and community development. Our search for best practices in these areas brought us to Boquete, a small town in Panama, which is known for its excellent recycling program, numerous eco-tourism activities, natural farming and beautiful nature.

The region that surrounds Boquete is famous for its coffee production and so Lindsay, Shannon and I decided to visit a local producer, Cafés de la Luna. This farm, Finca de dos Jefes, production is not only purely organic, but coffee is cultivated with the phases of the moon, which should influence yields and quality of the coffee bean. As we sat on the beautiful porch with a breath taking view over the coffee plantation, farm owner Richard explained to us the impacts of the coffee industry not only on the environment but also its social impact. Factory production of coffee is very demanding on water resources, causes extensive pollution of area and affects the natural balance of flora. Also most of the workers on coffee farms get paid very little and live in terrible conditions. Cafés de la Luna took another approach. All the processes in all phases of production of the coffee bean are natural and workers get a fair wage for their labor.

Richard showed us where permanent workers used to live before he bought the farm. A family of six would live all their lives in a tiny room in a tin barn with no windows and concrete cube for cooking. According to Richard these were the conditions most of the coffee workers lived in all over the world. The first thing he did after purchasing the farm was started construction of a house for his permanent workers so the whole family could live in decent conditions.

I never realized how today’s changes in world demographics influence demand and the prices of coffee beans. Richard Told us about the crises of the coffee market which resulted in many farmers abandoning coffee production. The rise of other coffee producing states, such as Vietnam, which was massively assisted by IMF loans, caused a decrease in world market prices and affected coffee business in Latin America.  Growth in China on the other hand caused an unprecedented rise in coffee bean demand, because its population of one billion has started demanding coffee in newly constructed Starbucks, McDonalds and other fast food chains.

Because of these changes in the market and its unpredictability, Cafés de la Luna decided to focus on quality rather than quantity as their motto says: “Trying to grow the healthiest, most natural, and most flavorful coffee on this planet.” The last part of our tour in the Finca de dos Jefes should prove if they are successful; we get to smell and taste all the different kinds of coffee this farm is producing…a truly delicious experience.

As

The highlight of the day for me is when I got the opportunity to roast my own coffee under the supervision of Richard.