Finca La Joya

The Echeverría Falla brothers bought La Joya (The Jewel) in an abandoned state in 2003. The farm had been planted with coffee previously and its last major renovation was done in the 1960s. This makes a good portion of the farm’s trees 65 years old or thereabouts. Coffee can be productive for more than 100 years, but it does lose its vigour and can suffer in quantity and quality as the trees age. It will need to be replanted at some point soon and the brothers are currently deciding what to do with the land. It is located on the slopes of Volcán de Fuego (volcano of fire) and the terrain is very steep. There is some talk of removing the coffee trees, terracing the plots to help reduce the impact of erosion, and replanting with coffee. However, it may be better in the longer term to leave the more difficult areas to natural reforestation, replanting the lower and more accessible terrain. Either way, the brothers will need to consider what is best for a sustainable, future production.