Finca Santa Clara is located on the fertile southern slopes of the Volcán de Agua in the Antigua Valley at 1,600-1,830 metres. Ricardo Zelaya has managed the farm since 1988 and is the 4th generation of the Zelaya family to have produced coffee at Santa Clara. Since taking over the farm, he has increased the size from 17 hectares of coffee plantations up to 95 hectares as well as building a wet mill, drying patios and a greenhouse to improve the processing of the coffee. This coffee has won Cup of Excellence #19 in 2021 and #16 in 2018.
Every cherry on the farm is hand-picked and then sorted by hand before being approved by the foreman for delivery to the wet mill. The farm also hires ‘special pickers’ who have demonstrated particular dexterity and are selected to hand harvest some of the farms’ microlots using impressive attention to detail. These employees can receive more than double the minimum daily wage through picking coffee at the farm. According to Ricardo, although they are very demanding about picking practices, people come back year upon year, which is a testament to the fair treatment they receive. In fact, Ricardo’s employees recently made a ‘happy’ video for him and his family to express their satisfaction with their work environment.
The Zelaya family has been growing coffee for over 100 years and four generations. This renowned family owns farms throughout Guatemala and grows one of only a handful of genuine ‘Antigua’ coffees (coffees grown in the Antigua valley area bounded by three volcanoes – Agua, Acatenango and Fuego).
The family is passionately committed to both quality and sustainability. The family’s farms are scrupulously well- managed right from the careful selection of varietals planted, to the close supervision of the dry and wet mills. The coffee is shade grown, which protects the plants from direct sunlight, maintains soil health, and provides an important habitat for birds and insect life. The family’s mills are also eco-friendly and feature sedimentation tanks that prevent pollution of the local river systems.
Ricardo produces microlots according to varietal and processing method (they do honey and natural processing as well as fully washed coffees, such as this lot).
On Santa Clara, the workers are seen as members of the family, which is why, in 2010, Ricardo began a scholarship program to help workers pay for the education of their children. This program is funded by Ricardo and has the support of buyers from abroad, who have supported the cause since 2012. Managed, now, by his daughter Bel, who has a degree in Special Education, the dream is for the project to achieve formal non-profit status and expand to include not only all the children whose parents work on the farm but also those from surrounding communities.
