Finca El Porvenir, Nicaragua

El Porvenir is a farm run by a co-operative of 50+ families living in the mountains of northwest Nicaragua. It was founded by 43 families who were united by their desire to develop a way to grow quality, organic, shade grown coffee that they could sell directly to roasters. The co-op makes an effort to use no middlemen in order to make a maximum profit that they can split between the families.

In 2003, a mission team from Mount Pleasant, SC called Their Bucks Coffee began working with El Porvenir. Two years later that group partnered with Gervais who also began purchasing directly from the farmers at El Porvenir to roast and sell their coffee. In 2011, Gervais traveled to Nicaragua for the first time to visit the farm and meet the farmers who are so dedicated to their Nicaraguan Coffee. He has since traveled back each year to see the farm, visit with the famers and discuss his purchases for the next calendar year.

It is not easy to get to or from a coffee farm in Nicaragua, which gives you a significant amount of respect for the cup of coffee you’re drinking and the farmers that sent the beans on their journey. Coffee likes to grow at higher altitudes so lots of coffee farms are on mountains, which typically have only a rocky dirt road access. All of the El Porvenir families live on the farm and it wasn't until a few years ago that they finally got wood houses with tin roofs as opposed to the palm/straw houses they had been living in. These families have no electricity, no running water, and no cars to help them get up or down the mountain on which they live. Every dollar that they make selling their coffee goes toward improving the standard of living for the families as a whole. All food purchases, home improvements and farm development is made by the entire group and meant to benefit everyone. Everyone benefits and in turn everyone helps in the farming process.

The coffee itself is shade grown, which leads to a really unique concept of a "farm." El Porvenir is a natural farm, which means they didn't plant all the trees that provide shade for the coffee; the coffee is simply planted among the trees that naturally exist in the mountains where they live. The coffee is surrounded by avocado trees, banana trees, cacao trees, and more that grow naturally and are not affected by the farming practices of El Porvenir.

The coffee is then 100% processed on El Porvenir property; the coffee beans are separated from the cherry and pulp, washed, and sorted by size. Then the beans are taken out to a huge patio where they are dried by the sun. Once the beans are dry, they go through even more sorting processes done by hand by the mothers and young women of the farm, and finally, when the president of the co-op says that all is well, the beans are bagged and driven, by the farm’s tractor, the two hours down the rocky mountain trail and put straight onto a container to come to the US. The farmers are present for the entire process: seed to ship. We are proud to serve their coffee at Little River and we know you will enjoy every cup you have!