About Finca de Cynthia

Ninety-two percent (92%) of Costa Rica's coffee growers have fincas with less than 12 acres of land (accounting for 44% of the total coffee-growing area of the country). Six percent (6%) have between 12 and 50 acres (accounting for 21% of the total coffee-growing area of the country), and two percent (2%) have fincas of over 50 acres (accounting for 35% of the coffee growing area of the country).

Finca de Cynthia has 10.8185 hectacres or 26.7 acres of land which places it in the top 8% in terms of finca size.

The challenge for Orocafe will be to restore the coffee production on Finca de Cynthia after years of being unattended. This will be made more difficult in the short term by Orocafe operating out of Houston. To overcome this obstacle, Orocafe is hiring two local workers to begin working each day on a part-time basis. The work will initially focus on cleaning up the area around two existing structures that were inhabited prior to the acquisition of the finca by Orocafe and cutting the over growth that has occurred in the bottom section of the finca. The top section will remain unattended until a building site has been cleared and a new entrance road from the top is completed. Since the coffee plants are heavily shaded (there is more shade than will be maintained normally due to the lack of pruning) damage to the plants should be very minimal.

While cleanup work progresses at the bottom of the finca, Orocafe will begin to develop plans to convert the farm to organic farming methods; this will be an intensive educational process since we are new to farming, coffee production, and organic farming methods.

All of us with Orocafe are excited, however, about the challenge and look forward to our first production of coffee and other products.

1. view from top - #20 from Ryan’s 1st trip package
2. view from bottom - #26 “
3. view from north side - #23 “
4. view from north side toward orange grove & Navarro – #26 – croo11.jpg 2003-07-24
5. view from Navarro looking up across the river - #15 – 102 – 0284.jpg 2003-07-25
6. view from bottom - #112 – croo14.jpg.2003-07-04
7. view from public road through Finca (organge grove in rear) - #20 – cr0013.jpg 2003-07-24
8. view of existing structure (former worker’s home) at bottom - #48 – cr0012.jpg 2003-07-24
9. view on Finca with Orocafe officers (in training exercise) - #34 – 102 – 0281-Img jpg 2003-07-25