The following excerpt is from an article published by the Rainforest Alliance. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
For Manfredo Lippman, whose family has owned Finca Ona since 1966, coffee farming is as much about people and the environment as it is about growing the aromatic bean. His estate farm in northwest Guatemala provides employment, education and basic healthcare to hundreds of families, whereas the streams that run through it supply drinking water to the city of Coatepeque, and its more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of protected forest are home to an array of wildlife. Lippman’s commitment to community and ecology were essential for getting Finca Ona Rainforest Alliance Certified, which distinguishes farms that comply with a strict social and environmental standard.
The Rainforest Alliance, an international organization that works to protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices and consumer behavior, has certified thousands of coffee farms in a dozen countries together with its partners in the Sustainable Agriculture Network. During the four decades since the Lippman family purchased Finca Ona, which was founded in 1850, Manfredo and his daughter, Margaret de Vila, have introduced a series of innovations to make the farm a better place to work and live. They built and support a school with six teachers and a health post with a full-time nurse. They also maintain four soccer fields and provide uniforms and transportation for the local team, which has won 40 trophies.
The most obvious innovation, however, is the modified ski lift…
Click here to read the rest of this article, or here or here to read more articles related to the Guatemalan economy or environment.
Comments are closed.