Miguel Angel Lemus 

Miguel started growing coffee with his father in the 1980s. At that time, they began to plant small plots of about 500 coffee trees to process and sell the dry parchment lots locally, achieving only retail prices far below the actual value of their coffee. Over time, he expanded his operation and increased productivity with additional plantings over 20 years. In addition to coffee cultivation, he also worked in plant breeding, orange cultivation, and cassava cultivation, but his primary source of income was always coffee.

He focused more on specialty coffee in the last five years when he learned about Caravela in La Palma, Chalatenango. He realized that coffee requires a lot of care and tedious work and decided to improve the techniques and his way of working to maximize its potential. He works alongside his son in the field, overseeing all farming activities such as planting, pruning, harvesting, and more, while his daughter oversees the drying process. On the farm, they have increased the Pacamara and Pacas plots, which has allowed them to earn a living and thrive.

Miguel says, “Although I have had to take a lot of economic losses with coffee, I enjoy working with it and will continue to do so.” And today, one of the things Miguel enjoys about the farm is seeing the green, vibrant and lively foliage of the trees; this motivates him to continue growing coffee.