Coffee Beans and Volcanic Soil
The coffee lovers of our team were especially thrilled to learn about the Lamastus family, HomeBiogas customers who have been producing some of the finest coffee in the world for four generations. Since 1918, the family has been processing and exporting coffee in Boquete, Panama, in the outskirts of the Baru Volcano. Today, they operate three different farms in the area – the El Burro Estate, the Luito Geisha Estate and the Elida Estate. All three estates are surrounded by the Volcan Baru National Park, a virgin native rainforest enveloped by trees. Set at a high elevation and enjoying plenty of rain, the estates provide fantastic conditions for growing the coffee beans. Today, the estates produce, process, export and roast their own rare estate coffee, which is considered among the best in the world.
Respect for the Environment
The Lamastus family is very conscious of their extraordinary surroundings. They are committed to protecting the area, which is home to many exotic plants and animals. It is for this reason that their coffee is grown without any insecticides or herbicides in an effort to keep their estates as free from chemicals as possible.
Panama is a carbon negative country and it’s important to keep these practices up. The Lamastus family estates have gained a reputation for protecting the environment and in 2019 they were awarded the social responsibility exporter of the year.
HomeBiogas – a Natural Fit!
HomeBiogas has been an excellent fit for the coffee estates, as they began transitioning to natural and environmentally friendly practices. The Lamastus family installed a HomeBiogas system in 2021 and have since used all of the more than one-hundred liters of organic bio-fertilizer to grow seedlings and irrigate plants. They are hopeful that this will create positive change and help them be as environmentally responsible as possible. By integrating bio-fertilizer from their HomeBiogas system into their practices, they hope to help pave the way for other coffee producers to grow organic coffee.