Guatemala Las Camelias

From the importer, Red Fox:

"Las Camelias comes to us from La Libertad in Guatemala. Nayo Ovalle owns and operates Las Bromelias farm (named after the bromeliads that populate the area), and from there we get the Las Camelias lot.

Nayo Ovalle belongs to one of the most renowned coffee families in the area. They have been producing coffee for 3 generations. He is one of the most experienced farmers in his community and complements what he learned in the field with a university degree in agricultural engineering.

Las Bromelias farm is located in the region of La Libertad in the community of Cuevitas. This community is characterized by a very humid climate with a wide range of temperatures: the mornings are very hot and the afternoons and nights are very cool. It’s an area where no matter the time of year, the soil will always be moist.

Las Camelias is made up of coffees of the San Ramon and Caturra varieties. It’s fermented for 24 hours in concrete fermentation tanks, then dried on patios for 14 days. Soil conservation is extremely important for Nayo. For this reason, he has built a wastewater management system through decanters and septic tanks, thus preventing this wastewater from contaminating the soil and groundwater.

Nayo usually uses native Chalum, Grevilleas, and ice cream bean trees to give shade to the coffees. He fertilizes with NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) and organic compost from coffee pulp. Nayo focuses on conservation practices that improve the quality and texture of the soil. His farm is a very well-preserved ecosystem with the coffee nestled right in surrounding the forest, in symbiosis.

The harvest season runs from December to May. Given the size of Las Bromelias farm (9.5 hectares), external harvesters from the area are usually hired. Years ago, labor was not as scarce as it is now due to the high migration of people from the community to other countries in search of better job opportunities.

Nayo is very concerned about biodiversity and caring for the environment, which is why he has placed signs throughout his farm that prohibit hunting. Since good practices are naturally imitated, many of his neighbors now have these signs on their farms, improving the amount of wild population in the area.

We started working with Nayo in 2021. One of the things that caught our attention is his passion for coffee. He tells us that he’s spent his whole life surrounded by coffee, and for that reason he dedicates himself every year to improving the productivity and quality of his farm. All this work is reflected in the excellent quality he delivers to us year after year."