Guatemala Santa Ana

Rony Asencio and his family have been growing coffee at Finca Santa Ana La Huerta since 1990. The farm sits high in the Sierra de Las Minas mountain range, in Guatemala’s eastern highlands. This lush, rain-drenched region contains some of Central America’s largest cloud forests and much of the area was declared a biosphere reserve in 1990. The region’s diverse habitats are estimated to contain some 70% of all bird and animal species found in Guatemala and Belize, including several threatened birds. Rony’s family is originally from the hallowed coffee ground of Antigua. He grew up around coffee and his father was, himself, a coffee farmer. However, when only a young lad, Rony’s dad sadly passed away, and the farm was sold. Rony knew one day he would return to coffee. However, by the time he was old enough, many farmers in the region were, themselves, selling up to developers, who were offering far more money for land near the colonial town than they could earn by farming coffee. Antigua was out; the search was on.