—, El Salvador, Cordillera Apaneca Ilamatepec, SHB EP, Finca Don Nacho - Mario Olivares, —

Source / Processing / Story:

The Cordillera Apaneca llamatepec is located in the north-west of El Salvador. Volcanic soils and a mild climate provide ideal conditions for coffee growing. UNESCO has declared this region “World Biosphere Reserve” in 2007. Its core areas preserve remnants of natural ecosystems of high ecological significance, of which the most prominent are the plants growing on lava formations. Some 2,600 years ago, during the Mayan era, indigenous groups inhabited this region. Today, communities of Mayan heritage such as Pipils or Kakis still live there, deeply rooted with their ancient culture. At Finca Don Nacho, the old Sarchimor coffee variety is cultivated using agroforestry techniques. Different tree species, such as Inga and Grevilla, grow between the coffee trees, reducing heat stress and increasing biodiversity as well as soil fertility. During harvest period, the fully ripe coffee cherries are collected manually and are then de-pulped, washed and dried as parchment (pergamino).