Nueva Granada S.A.

Nueva Granada is a farm owned by the Nottebohm family, now in their third generation after buying the farm in 1984. The history prior to that involved importing and sourcing the coffee, but never owning a farm. Part of a family of companies, they also grow sugar and macadamia nuts, as well as own an export company to ship the coffee out of the country.

Dieter and Holly are the current owners. Holly is a keen supporter of the local arts and runs programs to make sure the local heritage is not lost. There is a primary and secondary school provided, housing, a health clinic, church, and football pitch for the working community. Dieter also sponsors scholarships for 50 children from neighbouring villages to attend the school system.

32 families live on the farm, so the infrastructure is important for them. However, it is opened up for the local communities nearby, as well as for the seasonal workers that come in during harvest. Both wet and dry milling are carried out on the farm and allow for full quality control, before being shipped directly to the port.

An early adopter of Rainforest Alliance standards, they were amongst the first in Central America to be certified back in 2001. We have been working with them since 2003 when their coffee was used to introduce Rainforest Alliance as a certification programme to the UK. Although no longer RFA certified (The current amount of admin and regulation counter to the traditional uses has seen the farm take a step back from certification this year), they remain committed to the environment with around 10% of the farm dedicated to wild forest.

Spring water use is reduced through technology, and quality preserved through careful filtering of waste.