A
symbol of community unity, COOPABUENA and the people
of Agua Buena work together to promote sustainable development. |
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COOPABUENA
R. L. consiss of 800 coffee growers and processes
the coffee berries and prepares the export coffee
beans, provides credit and technical assistance
for the growers.
COOPABUENA
and Agua Buena are located in the southeast of
Costa Rica, 300 Km from San Jose.
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“We
who produce the coffee must change our way of
thinking. We must produce coffee of the highest
quality, always within a context of sustainable
environmental management. Regrettably, coffee
values on the international markets do not suport
us.”
José
Solano, Presidente de COOPA BUENA R.L.
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José
Solano |
Roberto
Jiménez |
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| AGUA
BUENA is nestled in a valley facing the slopes of the
Talamanca Mountain Range. Surrounding the village are
the coffee plantations upon which the community depends;
for this reason the coffee growers’ cooperative
represents a center of development in the region. |
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The
region of Agua Buena comprises a network of streams
and small rivers from which the village derives its
name.
From the springs that well from the mountain slopes
an abundance of pure water is obtained for use in the
community and the cooperative in processing harvested
coffee.
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COFFEE
GROWN UNDER SHADE
The
Jiménez farm is becoming an attractive park.
Its
coffee plantings are densely shaded with leguminous
trees that supply nitrogen to the soil as well as a
thick mulch cover, in this way furnishing soil organic
matter as well as firewood for the home and an important
refuge for birds and wildlife.
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ORGANIC
MATTER
The
biomass resulting from the shade tree prunning and the
normal leaf fall provides a permanent source of nutrients,
upon decomposition the leaves from the Inga edulis shade
trees supply part of the fertilizer required for the
coffee, in this way reducing the need for synthetic
fertilizer
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SOIL
CONSERVATION
Among measures for soil conservation, don Roberto has
built a series of contour water run-off channels bordered
by Vetiver grass hedges.
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Doña
Noemy
his
wife, an unfailing support for her husband
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Jacqueline
a
high school student who aspires to become a professional in
media communication.
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Carmen
a
seamstress who helps to support the family.
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Don
Roberto Jiménez and his family have created
on their farm a model of sustainable development.
Don Roberto is a full-time farmer, devoting most
of his resources to the production of coffee while
also maintaining a broad diversity of subsistence
livestock and crop production. |
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He
and his family, his wife and their two daughters,
are developing the coffee production upon which
they depend for their livelihood within a plan
of balanced environmental management. |
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From
their farm they obtain much of the food for their
home, thus recognizing the importance of caring
for the productive capacity of the soil.
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A
SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT
During
the coffee harvest the finca of the Jiménez family,
as is the case with other coffee growers, provides an
important source of employment for coffee pickers. |
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QUALITY
COOPABUENA
has implemented a number of systems to ensure the highest
qualityof its coffee at the international marketplace
Only
fully ripe, high-grown coffee berries are received by
the cooperative for processing in its plant
Faced
with the collapse in coffee values on international
markets, Coopabuena is meeting the crisis by offering
only high-grade coffee, thus seeking better remuneration
for its growers |
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A
Threatened Economy and Way of Life
Under present market conditions coffee growers are facing
failure. Many have abandoned their plantings. Others
are planting pastures.
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A
TROUBLED HORIZON
The berries on this plant are beginning to ripen; however,
it will not be this harvest that will suffer the major
impact of the the fallen prices, the value of these
coffee berries will find a level of about $70 per hundredweight
Next
year’s harvest is expected to fall to a value
of $45.
Coopabuena
must develop new methods in marketing its coffee to
achieve fair treatment in the market, taking into account
that coffee production costs for its growers now stand
at $85.
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“The
concept of Programa Pueblos requires of us a sense of
brotherhood and shared responsibility. It requires of
those of us who grow coffee a management system that
will not jeopardizes our earth; it requires of us the
responsibility to produce only a product of high grade,
and it requires those who are our consumers in the market
to meet us in fair trade and pay a just value for our
coffee.
Porgrama
Pueblos brings together on a basis of fair treatment
those who grow the coffee and those who enjoy it.”
Roberto
Jiménez |
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| Contact
Information: |
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Manager:
Phone:
Fax:
Email: |
Leonel
Sancho
(506)
734-0200
(506)
734-0033
cbuena@racsa.co.cr |
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