Finca El Jaguar now a model farm for sustainability in Nicaragua

Back in 2011, I wrote a post about our visit to Finca El Jaguar, located in northern Jinotega, Nicaragua, about 188 km north of the capital Managua. At about 100 ha (247 ac), it is both a private reserve registered with the Nicaraguan ministry of natural resources, and a coffee farm. It has been a real pleasure to keep in touch with Lili and Georges over the years, as well as watch their son Jean-Yves complete his education in the Netherlands and start a family.

Recently a video popped up on my social media feed — a great video of Jean-Yves discussing TreeRich, a group of coffee farms dedicated to environmental sustainability, forest and biodiversity preservation, high quality standards, and strengthening direct trade relationships (via 2cantrades), all using Finca El Jaguar as their model farm.

I couldn’t be more happy for Georges, Lili, and Jean-Yves for getting recognition and structural capacity with this project so long in the making. This is what the coffee industry, consumers, and most importantly coffeelands with all the precious biodiversity they can nuture, along with the farmers that steward them, so richly need and deserve.

The TreeRich website is well done and not only discusses the role of El Jaguar, but provides an overview of why this model is so critical in preserving biodiversity, farmer livelihoods, and even coffee itself in these turbulent times. Kudos to all involved!