KAWA - Hacienda La Esmeralda - Panama - Natural - SL34

At the Hacienda La Esmeralda farm, the nutrients removed from the land are restored through agriculture, using only appropriate and necessary fertilizers in modest quantities. Maintaining the forest along the watersheds and respecting the local fauna are major missions of the farm. Coffee pulp is also reused as a source of fertilizer and irrigation, by draining it onto dairy pastures. This is the main reason why coffee tree pruning is deliberately scheduled before and after the nesting season of local birds. In the interests of energy efficiency, both hydroelectricity and sustainable wood combustion are used to power the coffee mill.

The people behind Hacienda La Esmeralda sincerely believe that business practices should always be such that products can be easily sold at a level that allows everyone to feed, clothe, educate and be healthy. They constantly strive to produce a product of the highest quality, which generates the income necessary to sustain people at the level described.

On the farms, Geisha coffee pickers receive three times the average price paid for the harvest. In addition, in June, all pickers receive a special bonus. Hacienda la Esmeralda has also built a nursery where pickers' children, as well as mothers with their infants, are cared for and given a hot meal while their parents or spouses harvest the coffee. The farm also provides packets of rice and beans, or rice and sardines, for each adult member of the workers' family. Children from the workers' families who achieve excellent academic results are entitled to a scholarship for primary and secondary school, as well as a full scholarship for higher education.