Finca Las Alasitas

Finca Las Alasitas is owned and operated by Agricafe who realised in 2012 that for them to continue to process and market coffee they would need to increase their supply of coffee cherry. Unfortunately, coffee production in Bolivia has been on the decline for several years now as the internal market prices, coupled with more lucrative trade in other crops, has seen several farmers abandon coffee. Since 2014, Caturra, Java and Geisha varietals have been planted at the farm. They are operating the farm using agricultural best practice to show other farmers in the area what is possible and how to increase their crop quantity and quality and therefore their incomes. This year, we will have the Caturra and Java varietals on the counter. We will have the Caturra on first, followed by the Java. It’s a great opportunity to see the difference between the two. At Las Alasitas, the Rodríguez family have their coffee nursery which provides young plants for the Fincas Los Rodríguez group farms in Caranavi. This crop the family have been running grafting trials, combining varietals with excellent cup quality and those with disease resistance and vigorous rootstock. The harvest is managed Rodrígo Frigerio, a winemaker from Argentina who travels to Bolivia during the coffee crop, while the grape vines are in low season, dividing his time between coffee and wine.