“I've officially been growing coffee on my own farm for 22 years, but coffee has been a part of my life since I was young. I have fond memories of my grandfather taking his work breaks on this great big rock by the coffee fields. My siblings and I would bring coffee out to him and he would share his lunch with us. That same rock is still on my farm and I think of my grandfather every time I pass it."
-Gilberth Lobo
Finca Gilberth Lobo
What's it like to be a practiced "cafeculturo"?
As visitors approach the colorful house of Gilberth Lobo, they are greeted by waving pieces of clothing drying on the line and the farm's friendly dogs. Gilberth will appear smiling from the doorway, most likely in a running shirt, as he is an avid runner in addition to being an expert coffee grower. His grandparents were coffee growers before him and 22 years ago, he became one of the first parcel owners in the community land trust, Finca La Bella. Though Finca La Bella was ultimately divided into privately-owned lots, Gilberth still respects its original intent to connect community and minimize damage to the land. These values are incorporated into Finca Gilberth Lobo in various ways. Though coffee is Gilberth's primary crop, he grows numerous plants, such as guayaba, banana, sugar cane, chiles, carrots, and platanos, to increase biodiversity, create symbiotic relationships between crops, and attract pollinators. Circling the farm and crisscrossing the coffee plots are trees of all sizes that not only act as windbreaks, but allow safe passage for wildlife to move through the farm to surrounding forest.
Though Gilberth does not use any pesticides or herbicides on his farm, he does use small amounts of
fertilizer to help vulnerable coffee sprouts grow. His farm is nevertheless sustainable because of its biodiversity, forest coverage, and the fact that no industrial machines are used to harvest the crops. He and family have been able to reduce their cost of living by eating food from their farm, in turn limiting the amount of waste they produce.
Gilbert enjoys sharing his knowledge of sustainable small-scale farming, and offers tours of his farm to student groups and tourists.