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Overview
El Porvenir has been in the Pullinger Avila family for over four
generations since 1916 when it was bought by Ramón Avila who, in 1927,
passed the farm to his niece Margoth Avila de Pullinger. Beginning in
1952, Roberto C. Pullinger, son of Margoth, assumed the position of
manager of the farm increasing productivity to a high of more than 3,400
quintals while maintaining an average production of 2,000 quintals per
year from 1965-1980. The Civil War which was fought the hardest in the
eastern section of the country, directly impacted the coffee production
in El Porvenir as yearly production dropped to a mere 300 quintals
average for the years 1985-1990.
In 1990, Adilia de Pullinger, wife of Roberto, became
manager of the farm and fervently started the process of reconstruction
with the goal of reclaiming the areas of the farm that had been
abandoned during the war. Her perseverance and hard work in conjunction
with that of her children and the farm workers, allowed for an increase
in production nearly reaching the pre-war prosperity. The revitalization
of the production is a direct result of the close-knit Pullinger family
and the good relation that it has had with its workers and the
surrounding community for nearly 90 years. More than 40 families depend
on the farm, four of whom live on the farm property. The family is
committed to sustainable practices of cultivation; they use a minimal
amount of chemicals and try to implement traditional methods of
production that will provide the most benefits to the surrounding
villages with minimal impact to the flora and fauna. There are 70
different tree varieties that provide shade and some 50 species of
resident and migratory birds have been spotted at El Porvenir. This
commitment to quality and sustainability has enabled El Porvenir to be
managed under the Rainforest Alliance Certification since 2006.
Ever conscious of the social impact of coffee
farming, the Pullinger family is concerned with the well-being of
surrounding villages and tries to implement systems to contribute to the
social and economic welfare of the people who work on the farm. El
Porvenir organizes Christmas celebrations for children, has donated land
to create a dispensary for the community, has created a soccer field and
is constantly thinking of ways to improve education and healthcare.
Gender also factors into these social goals as the Pullinger family
promotes gender equality by offering women equal job opportunities. This
year the coffee that entered the event was taken from a section called
"Las Nubes" (The Clouds) grown with Pacamara that has been cultivated
for the past 5 years in a plot of 4.2 hectares. Attention to detail and
educational component of the farm's harvest process contributed to
winning Cup of Excellence again this year. El Porvenir ranked in 19th in
2007. This coffee was harvest in mid February by selecting a group of
experienced pickers and when they had abundance of fully ripe cherries.
Adilia’s expectations with this new award is to
increased opportunities that allows her more investment, not only toward
production of better quality coffee but also to be used in more projects
that will ensure the quality of life for the surrounding communities.
The long term vision of Adilia is to improve her sustainable coffee
production. Adilia sees these goals as being complementary and truly
believes that the search for a better product will also provide a better
standard of living for those that work on the farms.
Finally, the recognition that comes from having
achieved a Presidential award at the Cup of Excellence demonstrates the
quality of the coffee produced at El Porvenir. This sense of recognition
is a point of pride for Adilia and provides the consumer with the
guarantee that when they drink a cup of coffee from El Porvenir they are
drinking the best.
Additional information:
Location: Cantón San Antonio, Chinameca
Coffee varieties: Bourbon, Pacas & Pacamara
Type of Shade: Pepeto, gravileo, cedar, native trees, etc.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,200 mm
Average Temperature: 18º C
Type of Soil: Sandy clay
Annual Production: (60kg) 1,150 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Oromontique, Unex S.A.
de C.V.
Fauna: Armadillo, Squirrel, gray fox, etc.
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 13° 28’ 21.17’’ N
Longitude: 88° 20’ 31.05’’ W
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