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Sustainability

These shade-grown coffee farms help to Cafeology
ISSUES FACED AT ROBERTO’S FARM
maintain local wildlife populations, improve
soil health, reduce soil erosion, sequester He is considering buying
carbon, naturally suppress weeds (less electric trucks that he can
herbicide), naturally control pests (less charge from the mill using
pesticide), etc. This is important because solar power. These trucks
coffee farming can easily be converted to sun- will then be used to
grown systems where there is a typical shuttle workers around,
agricultural monoculture, with rows upon run errands, and collect
rows of nothing but crops (devoid of any other cherries from the farms.
forms of life).
They need to be able to
Agroecosystems such as Costa Rica are drive in suboptimal
important because even non-beneficial plants conditions (rough roads,
are left to live on the farms (like the enormous steep inclines, carrying
Eucalyptus trees at Las Nuves that slightly heavy loads, etc). Electric
protect from strong winds but compete vehicle technology is
heavily for resources with the coffee trees). constantly improving so

All electricity in Costa Rica is 100% renewable Roberto remains hopeful
due to long daylight hours for solar and that he can begin
mountainous high winds for wind farms. electrifying his fleet soon.
However, Roberto has solar panels to produce Social benefits are also
his electricity. He does not produce enough to important when it comes

cover the usage of his operation but has to sustainability. Roberto
reduced his electricity bills by over half. and his family do a lot for
the local community.
Roberto built a swimming
pool at El Llano which
local people are allowed
to use free of charge.
Similarly, there are lots of
bananas that grow on the

farms due to the need for
shade. Roberto does not
sell these bananas, he
gives them to people for
free because he has more
than he could even want NOVEMBER/DECEMBER. 2024 | ISSUE 39
to eat.
His wife Doris spent
nearly the whole time

during my visit cooking
El Llano farm, as seen from the plantation food to donate to their
(noitce the rooftop solar panels) local church for their
patron day celebrations.

www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk