Day Two - Into the Mountains

Wow! Is all I can say about today.

The bikes are ready to head up the mountain.

Luis, Jeff, Alex on the way up.

Hector driving his truck to work with some gringos.

Jeff on one of many stream crossings.

A makeshift kitche was erected in the forest and an amazing meal was created before our eyes. We earned the meal by carrying bags of manure up a step hill to the coffee nursery. No Wheelbarrows, no trucks, just people.

Some very nice compost. Actually some of the best Ive ever seen (and I{ve seen a lot).

Pickled vegetables. 

I wasn{t kidding about carrying the bags.

I went across the creek to take this shot of the group.

Hector with a ridiculously heavy bag. The compost was pretty wet so it was heavy and left  evidence on our clothing. He is smiling. 

Luis, another great friend made yesterday. He helped arrange for bikes. Last night he told stories of  the time he spent in the USA and I was floored by his perseverence.

A coffee plant with cherries.

Hector and Andy scraped away some mulch to reveal the soil around the young coffee plants. These are a few years old and just starting to produce.

This is the nursery where Hector had several thousand plants started. They will fill over an acre.

Hector describes his nursery.

You can see the passion. 

This is a huge tree in the middle of the nursery. Did you know that most coffee labeled organic actually starts as a clearcut? Even shade grown coffee can be started as a clearcut, and while they will plant shade trees along with coffee, I believe what Hector is doing what is best - he leaves the shade trees there and even plants more along with the coffee.

They dig a pretty big hole and fill it with compost, then place the plant in and surround with more. Although you can't tell by the picture, we are on a steep hillside, and they carefully dig the holes to create terraces to prevent erosion. They have developed many tools on site to help them create level and well spaced terraces.