Lino Garcia

PARTNER’S NAME :DIONISIA PÉREZ

FINCA EL POCITO STORY

Lino is a small-scale organic farmer from Santa María Ozolotepec, who started to focus on specialty coffee with the hope of accessing better prices whilst seeking to see his coffee valued and paid for respectively. He used to sell his coffee for 30 Mexican pesos per kilogram, or $0.68 per pound of coffee. At his El Pocito farm, Lino works hand in hand with his wife and children. The farm, named after a five-day hurricane, that affected the farm more than 50 years ago with unforeseen rains and winds, is the place where he has been growing coffee all his life. Once the storm passed, a landslide in the middle of the farm formed a well that inundated the crops. In honor of this event, his parents decided to name the farm El Pocito.

Lino and his family harvest ripe cherries only and pulp the cherries on the same day in the afternoon, and later, ferment the coffee for 30 hours. In the end, they place the coffee on palm mats to continue the drying process. Lino oversees the farm management and the harvest with his children, and his wife oversees the washing and drying process. Currently, Lino is happy because he has received prices that reflect the value of his work and family efforts. Things have changed after these two years. In the off-season months, he grows and sells maize to generate an additional income.