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Finca La Esperanza belonged to Mrs. Sonia Moran since she was a little girl. She inherited the farm from her parents. Because of old age and lack of interest in coffee farming from the next generation, she decided to sell the farm. Sonia was very emotionally attached to Finca La Esperanza. Eventhough the farm was seeked by many, she had a hard time making up her mind deciding who the next owner should be.

In July 2010 Mrs. Sonia Moran met my father, Alfredo Pacas Diaz and my brother, Juan Alfredo Pacas Martinez. They had a long talk about coffee farming, farm managing, varietals, quality, etc. My father let Sonia know his interest in buying the farm, and to his pleasant surprise, Sonia agreed to make business with him. Through their conversation, she realized they shared similar views about coffee farming and that helped her make up her mind. The business was finalized on November 12, 2010. A new adventure for the Pacas Family had begun.

Finca La Esperanza is located in Canton El Porvenir, Municipio de Chalchuapa, Santa Ana. The farm begins at 1,000 masl and goes all the way up to 1,750 masl. Because of the shape of the farm and it’s drastic change in elevation, it is crucial to have a well-maintained road system.

Finca La Esperanza is divided into 18 different tablones. It has undergone an intensive replanting process due to the leaf rust attack that began in 2012. Our organization has viewed this as an opportunity to plant different varietals, transforming this beautiful farm into a very large varietal garden. Among the varietals that you can find in Finca La Esperanza are: Pacas, Red Bourbon, Pacamara, Orange Boubon, Kenya, Ethiopian heirloom, Moka, Bernardina.

Because of it’s location (North West region), Finca la Esperanza is not affected by wind.

WHAT MAKES THIS FARM SO SPECIAL:

This farm is special for different reasons: 1. The different varietals that are planted in it. 2. The fantastic cup profile of the different varietals. 3. The biodiversity in terms of varietals and trees that are used for shade (inga trees, eucaliptus, conifers). 4. The amazing altitude and views you can see from the farm.

SOCIAL PROJECTS:

Café Pacas is a committed company, willing to contribute in a positive manner to our society in order to be sustainable. Since 2012, we have developed a social responsibility strategy, which includes a series of different programs. We have supported these programs by partnering with different institutions (NPO’s), such as FUNPRES and FORJA, and we have worked together to contribute to our society and environment.

The programs that we have been working on are mostly focused on education. At the same time, we have worked on violence prevention programs at the farms. FUNPRES has helped us develop a program aimed at giving emotional support to all Café Pacas team members. This program involves different workshops related to Social Skills. Some of the workshops were: Emotional Intelligence, Assertive Communication, Interpersonal Relationships, Resilience, Teamwork among others. Also, psychological help is available for our team members and their families to help them cope with specific situations. Fifty-five have people benefitted from the program during the first year at Finca La Esperanza. By implementing this program, the participants learned that when we help each other, work as a team and create a safe and respectful environment, we feel better and the results are positive. People who have benefited from the program are now agents of change in their communities.

In the future we will also include three additional workshops that are: Preventing Addictions (Self-Care), Resilience and Peaceful Coexistence. By the end of the program, about 250 people would have been part of the workshops in the organization.

The Café Pacas family is committed to contribute socially and economically in our society. The support of our clients and friends to grow our social responsibility program is crucial in in reshaping our beautiful El Salvador.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS:

• Re-planting of the farm using high quality varieties of coffee
• Using diversified shade trees
• Digging “fosas”, which are holes that capture wáter and organic matter into the acquifers.
• Using Green-approved fertilizers
• No hunting

VARIETALS:

Finca La Esperanza is planted with the following varietals: Red Bourbon, Pacamara, Pacas, Kenya, Mocca, Bernardina, Ethiopian Heirloon. All of them are harvested and procesed separately.

YEARLY AVERAGE RAINFALL:

2,000 mm

TYPE OF SOIL:

Loamy

AVERAGE AGE OF THE TREES:

We have trees that are 80 years old, 5 years old, 2 and 1 year old.

ALTITUDE:

1,000-1,750 masl

SIZE OF THE FARM:

87.50 Ha

PROCESS:

Depending on what coffee it is, we process the different coffees as washed, semi washed, honey or natural.

AWARDS: 31 place COE 2011

PREPARATION:

As I said before, we are able to prepare as washed, semi washed, natural and honey. Cero defects. Screen 15. The cup profile and SCAA score is particular to each microlot that this farm produces.