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Overview
Gloria Mercedes Rodriguez is the actual owner of Nejapa
and San José coffee farms, both located on the Apaneca – Ilamatepec mountain
range. Nejapa fam was inherited by Gloria’s father, José María Rodriguez
Herrera in the 50’s, by that time the property was only devoted to cattle
for milking purposes, and it was José Maria who started growing coffee of
the Bourbon variety, and little by little he noticed coffee was extremely
productive on that area. This farm has 18.2 hectares of which 8.4 hectares
are grown to coffee at 1,450 meters above sea level. There are 7 hectares
reforested with cedar trees of approximately 9 years old. The farm also
has a variety of shade trees, which helps maintain and preserve both the
soil conditions and a wide variety of birds and small mammals that can be
seen even in that region.
This farm is very close to the Laguna de Las Ninfas (Nymphs
Lagoon) with a spectacular sight over the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range,
including the impressive Itzalco volcano, and even the Pacific Ocean, and
Port of Acajutla. Every year, Gloria establishes nurseries with selected
and certified seeds, giving special care to it and keeping her farm in good
shape, balancing production and securing future crops.
For four generations Finca San Jose has embodied the
force, faith and hope of a family of coffee producers. In 1815 Jose Maria
Rodriguez and Josefina Rodriguez planted the first coffee trees with their
own hands. Through the generations, the farm has passed through the hands
of many committed farmers, beginning with Israel Rodriguez who, followed
by Jose Maria Rodriguez cared for the farm until the most recent owner,
Gloria Mercedes, took over. Ever the strong woman, Gloria has overcome gender
barriers in an industry that has historically been the province of men and
continues to personally supervise the process of cultivation. Finca San
José ranked alone last year on 10th place at this same event.
From all the work done 7 families depend economically
on these farms. Ten of its members work throughout the year, during picking
season Gloria hires approximately 60 to 75 people from the community. Gloria
is confident of the good coffee quality, because it was cultivated under
the conditions and requirements that meet specialty coffee standards such
as altitude (1475 - 1520 meters above sea level), 100% Bourbon, picked fully
ripe, sandy loam soils, rich in organic matter, among others. In addition
to this, pickers were selected from staff with experience and passion that
also understands requirements to obtain high quality coffee. The whole process
is supervised directly by Gloria. Her success is dedicated to the memory
of her father and grandfather, Jose Maria Rodriguez, who his entire life
struggled, trusted, and worked with his own hands on these lands, and taught
her to love hard work and coffee growing culture.
Additional Information
Coffee varieties: Bourbon
Type of Shade: Ingas: pepeto, cuje, and frutal trees, etc.
Average Annual Rainfall: 3,000 mm
Average Temperature: 17º C
Type of Soil: sandy loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 268 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: El Molino, JASAL S.A. de C.V.
Other crops: Mango, Orange and avocado trees Fauna: Taltuza, chiltota, sparrows,
squirrel, armadillos, etc.
GPS Coordinates:
Nejapa
Latitude: 13º 52’ 18.1” N
Longitude: 89º 47’ 39.6” W
San José
Latitude: N 13º 52’ 52.3’’
Longitude: W 89º 48’ 24.5’’
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