Guanacaste – Dimas Rojas and Byron Perez takes the visitors round the coffee farm in Guanacaste while busy intimating them on the entire production and distribution processes of coffee bean.
“The seed is planted and cultivated free of chemicals” explained Perez and continued by saying that each row of coffee plants is grown beneath the shadow overhanging trees. He also said that each bean must always be carefully picked.
But before this, Dimas Rojas, the manager of Coopepilangosta coffee processing plant in Guanacaste had demonstrated how coffee beans are raked to level them out during the drying process.
Concluding the tour, Perez shows two big, moss-covered lagoons and explains that they are filled with beans that did not make the cut for consumption. He went further to explain that lime is added to the lagoons, and then the beans ferment and is distributed as compost and organic fertilizer to other farmers in the Guanacaste area in Costa Rica.
These processes, according to Perez are geared towards sustainability.
According to the executive director of the Costa Rica Coffee Institute (ICafe), Mr. Ronald Peters, “There are many different types of environmental practices that determine whether a coffee producer is sustainable or not”. He continued by saying that “Some keys to the sustainable requirements are the level of shade they use, for instance, in how they grow the bean plants.” While also adding that “The wastes, both liquid and solid are treated goes a long way in determining how are managed and reused” He concluded his contribution by saying that farms should be very conscious of how they apply chemicals, if they use them, to avoid contaminating the rivers, water supply and ensure that they do not affect other elements of ecosystem.
This social and human element to sustainable practices, according to Peters, should include labor and employees practices. The employees need to be adequately remunerated so that they will be motivated to actively practice safe picking and production methods.
You will notice all these practices at Coopepilangosta, from they way the employees are well treated to the cautious care given to the environment. By being fully certified by the International Standard Organization [ISO], the farms can rightly be considered as sustainable. They are well ahead of time because they had been practicing sustainable methods long before ‘sustainable’ certifications become common and popular in Costa Rica and other established coffee markets.
