S
ince 2003, the international non-profit conServation
group the rainforest alliance has certified and annually
audited the costa rican coffee farm aquiares, verifying that
it complies with 94 criteria detailing environmentally healthy
and financially efficient
farming practices, sound
business procedures
and respectable working
conditions. as a result,
aquiares' employees -
from the farm managers
to the coffee pickers
- have seen improved
working conditions and
increased environmental
protection.
an aquiares field worker
for 27 years, luis
Guillermo rodríguez,
confirms that the farm
is a model of social
and
environmental
responsibility. "i was
raised here," he says, noting
that since the certification program began he has become
a champion of environmentalism. "this is a responsible
company that offers us opportunities and treats us well. We
matter to them."
the environment also matters at
aquiares. "We began planting
trees along the river beds and protecting the springs,"
rodríguez explains. "protecting the environment means
making better lives for human beings."
the farm surrounds a village of 1,500, also named aquiares,
both near the base of the volcano turrialba on the easternmost
flank of the mountain range that bisects costa rica.
Most of the heads of the families in the village work on
the farm and nearly all live on lots they bought through an
innovative housing program that gives workers the option to
own the houses the farm provides. aquiares' owners donated
a community center, a soccer field, basketball court and land
for a school, as well. premium rates earned from the sale
Aquiares:
of rainforest alliance certified coffee to Kraft foods have
helped finance all of this plus other social and environmental
programs on the farm.
"Besides the money
invested
in these
programs, what has been
invested is affection,"
general manager fabio
Zamora says. "the
greatest profit has been
the satisfaction of having
help change attitudes at
aquiares. Workers and
residents now realize
the importance of
sustainability ."
the farm even employs a
social and environmental
program manager, alonso
Barquero. he points
to the community's
friendliness as a huge
asset: "everyone knows
each other here. You can see almost all the doors are open."
Opportunities for all
alonso Barquero's title is unknown on most farms. he rose
from the ranks of field hand to fill the role, taking advantage
of the farm's education assistance program to earn two
university degrees. not only adults benefit from the farm's
educational programs. aquiares employees visit neighboring
public schools to give children lessons in environmental
protection and appreciation.
José luis Díaz is also a long-time employee at aquiares. he
has been a coffee picker and field hand for 23 years, lives on
his own property and believes rainforest alliance certification
has lent more stability to his work.
"conditions have improved," he maintains. "there is greater
environmental protection and more birds now.
no hunting is
allowed - now you see raccoons, coatis and rabbits. Before it
On the Aquiares coffee farm, nearly all the workers own their homes.
A Costa Rican Coffee Farm
in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
was tough to see them."
Díaz is one of the 170 people who work permanently on the
farm, joined by up to 600 others for a few months during the
harvest season. his work day is shorter than that on most
other farms - no longer than eight hours; seven if he works
efficiently. Workers are instructed to follow the farm's strict
environmental
protection policies, including reducing
chemical use through simple techniques like clearing weeds
with machetes rather than herbicides and fighting the coffee
borer beetle with water traps rather than pesticides.
Workers are paid at least costa rica's minimum wage, which
is higher than that of neighboring countries and a law that
is not always obeyed on non-certified farms. health care is
provided free of charge on the farm, and meals for seasonal
coffee pickers are offered at subsidized rates.
luis Diego Jiménez, certification manager for the rainforest
alliance, applauds the way aquiares improved its
administration in order to meet demanding certification
standards.
"rather than simply making immediate changes on the ground,
the farm's administration team was restructured to create a
strong system of internal auditing," he recalls. "they raised
their level of training, and in-house experts now oversee
improvements such as the safe application of chemicals and
the social programs."
Natural sunscreen and the international
biological corridor
the abundant shade trees on
aquiares set the farm apart
from most others in
costa rica. though the coffee plant is
an understory bush that thrives under a forest canopy, many
costa rican coffee farms have been stripped of their shade
trees, exposing new varieties of the plant to direct sunlight.
the sun-tolerant bushes produce more berries, but require
heavy doses of agrochemicals to keep pests at bay. aquiares,
however, is a haven of native trees shading its rows of coffee
bushes. Birds and other animals have noticed - workers have
seen toucanets, thrushes, caciques, armadillos and even
small wildcats.
the wandering wildlife may be the emissaries of tropical
forest denizens to come. aquaires lies in the path of the
Mesoamerican Biological corridor, an ambitious initiative to
link protected areas throughout Mexico and
central america
to one another. aquiares lies between turrialba volcano
national park, whose steaming crater is in view from the
farm, and Guayabo national Monument, a forest refuge that
holds the ruins of an ancient indigenous settlement and is
costa rica's most extensive archaeological site.
the aquiares farm also includes a 500-acre forest, providing
further protection to wildlife that may safely roam from the
volcano's forests, through the farm's refuge, to Guayabo…and
back again.
Rainforest Alliance
New York . United States . Mexico . Costa Rica . Guatemala . Indonesia . Spain . Bolivia . the Netherlands
665 Broadway, Suite 500 . Nueva York, NY 10012-2331 . Tel: 212/677-1900 . Fax: 212/677-2187
www.rainforest-alliance.org
Margarita Corrales enjoys access to healthcare, education and job
training, which are just some of the social benefits provided to
workers on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
www.rainforest-alliance.org
The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure
sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business
practices and consumer behavior.
Environmental Program Manager Alonso Barquero overlooks one
of the rivers that are protected from pollution and erosion as the
Rainforest Alliance standard demands.
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