Finca El Matazano Lot 17 (COE) - Honduras

Close to the road that leads to Marcala, La Paz lies the village of El Matazano in San Pedro de Tutule, La Paz. The farm belongs to Francisco Castillo who was born and raised in a coffee farming family and has committed his life to growing the best coffee he possibly can.

From an early age, Francisco would always help his father in all the coffee growing and processing activities. He inherited his very first property from his father, and from that point onward, he has been fully dedicated to coffee production, expanding his coffee land at every possible opportunity. His efforts and hard work have paid off. He has won places in the Honduran Cup of Excellence competition in both 2015 and 2016.

Francisco has kept the plots of Catuaí and Lempira on his farms separated. For 2016, he submitted a 100% Catuaí lot to the COE and finished in 17^th place!

For Francisco, coffee quality begins with nutrition: he has established a strict programme of combined fertilizers applied according to the immediate needs of the terrain. Coffee leaf rust is controlled through pruning and the preventive application of fungicide. His farm has a wide variety of shade trees species, such as Inga, Guajiniquil, bananas and other fruit trees, all of which help to keep temperatures cool and control diseases and pests, as well.

Francisco is committed to environmental conservation on his farm. Within the farm there lies a spring, which the entire community uses for household consumption. Francisco has taken great steps to conserve the spring and prevent pollution and contamination.

Francisco has submitted lots in the past to the COE competition, but with little success. In 2015, he finally placed at #30. For 2016, he succeeded in reaching the top 20, at #17. He is excited and motivated to continue working to reach the very top slot in the future.