The farmers of El Pinal have long been the supplier of one of the main components of our Original House Blend. Besides the blend you will find El Pinal one month a year as a Discover Monthly. Through our export partner Cafesmo we buy this coffee as well as an annual, high end microlot from the area. 

Geremias Melara, age 19 | Farmer and operations manager at El Pinal, Honduras Micro station

Tell us something more about your life in coffee:
"Since I was little I was helping my father and other farmers in El Pinal taking care of the coffee fields beneath the pine trees. When I was 18 I did an internship at Cafesmo [the dry mill in Mercedes an hour drive down the mountains in the valley.] Since then I got more interested in coffee and all aspects of production and processing. I want to build my future in coffee and therefore I never thought about leaving for the States.

Besides coffee farming with my father I manage the micro station in El Pinal. This is a small washing station with the capacity to process the Wakuli coffee. The micro station in the village was revitalized and the coffee is going through the micro station. This year we processed 1.000 quintales of whet parchment (180 export bags). This coffee will have a more secure quality because we can process the coffee quickly after harvest. If we need to wait and bring it down to Mercedes, this increases the risk of quality issues like mold. Also, after processing in the microstation we transport lower volumes. So lower costs. Water can be an issue. We have little water available from the source in the village. But we are saving water before harvest time and that is enough."

What is the power of El Pinal?
"Life is far more comfortable up in El Pinal than down in the valley and the climate is amazing for coffee. Everyone knows everyone else. Unlike the towns and cities down in the valley El Pinal is very safe. We own everything ourselves so even if we do not make loads of money the quality of life is very high. In the bigger city you have to buy everything even if it's expensive. We save a lot of money by exchanging our crops, eggs, and materials because everyone grows different things. We are all family and friends at El Pinal. Most of the time that makes working together very easy."

There are many changes in the coffee industry. How do you think coffee farming can secure the future of El Pinal?
"In our case what we need is young people to stay in coffee. The people who help each other out, who really work together can thrive. At El Pinal I feel this is in our nature. We are not that scared of climate change at our altitude for now. We are very high in the mountains and the heat that is threatening lower altitude coffees has not been an issue here. The price of coffee is of course always an issue. Very volatile and most of the time too low for good business. Right now the price is high but I believe that even if coffee gets a bit cheaper we can still sell the coffee for a good price. If the coffee price stays this high? I believe people will come back and work in coffee."

Some of your family members and other members of the El Pinal community have left for the United States. Why didn't you go?
"It is a good option for people to work in the states.A lot of farms have been split up between siblings over the past generations, leaving farmers with plots that are too small to get by. People who have travelled to the states are better off economically and often invest in coffee farming when they return. But for me, I have more than enough opportunities here in El Pinal. I love working in coffee. With my dad. We work together very naturally. There is no pressure. We can go out early in the morning or even late at night together. We are a great team."

How would you describe working with Wakuli?
"For me it is a treat to work with Wakuli! I was happy to do something back by driving the team up and down the mountain when they visited. Wakuli has been a very good partner to El Pinal because they always paid a high price. We had planned to work on some special preparations after that visit, to explore possibilities for a microlot [a special limited volume of super distinct or high quality coffee] but the extended rains made it very difficult to do anything else than just pick and dry coffee as quickly as possible. This made production of microlots impossible. We plan to take steps to make this more secure for next year. A plan that we have is to build a solar dryer [plastic greenhouse to dry coffee faster and with more control]."

How can our partnership help further development of El Pinal?
"For some of the members it is the most important to sell the coffee for the best price... But there is a big part of the El Pinal group that values the partnership with Wakuli and the stability that comes with it. We hope to work together for years to come."