University of Puerto Rico at Ponce

English Department

DATE: December 1st, 2020

TO: Prof. Pier Le Compte Zambrana
FROM: Natalie Lopés Velasco, Sorymel Negrón, Krystal Mercado and Jadey Negrón
SUBJECT: Progress Report of “Finca Buena Vibra” & “Finca Calliope”

Introduction of Agriculture

Agriculture is the science and practice of soil cultivation to produce crops and livestock
to a degree of preparation and marketing. Agriculture is an essential part of the culture of Puerto
Rico. The history of agriculture in Puerto Rico dates back to the indigenous people who
cultivated crops to keep themselves alive. Then with the arrival of the Spanish, agriculture
developed and expanded the diversity of other crops. The debate of the importance of
agriculture in Puerto Rico is between people who think it is not that important for the island's
progress and others who believe agriculture could keep Puerto Rico progressing and alive.
Others believe that dedicating time to the agriculture industry is the key to increasing the
island's economy. There are various crops on the island-grown; some are; coffee, sugar cane,
rice, corn, etc. For this work, we are going to focus on the crops of coffee. Puerto Rico was the
first territory in America that produced coffee. The coffee grown on the island was first brought
and exported from Yemen, where coffee originated. The Spanish had a law called "Spanish
Crown Lay," which protected the coffee. Puerto Rico has been growing coffee since 275 years
ago, and in the 19th century was named the best coffee in the world. Now the coffee industry
is slowly disappearing from the island.

Puerto Rico has been the victim of numerous problems such as; political decisions,
hurricanes, and economic changes. The coffee industry in Puerto Rico has been an unsteady
business, and for this, it has downsized. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in
September of 2017, many crops on the island were affected and destroyed, including coffee
crops. All these problems previously mentioned have caused agriculture to decrease in Puerto
Rico and are no longer a primary concern on the island. Now our coffee is exported from
Mexico. And Brazil is the best coffee producer in the world. We can say that the agriculture of
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Puerto Rico has changed since the industrialization and all the economic changes that have
happened ever since.

Agriculture represents a crucial point in the economy and progress of a country.

Agriculture in Puerto Rico could make a significant change in the economy and employment.
These could be a chance for new opportunities to create new beginnings and produce jobs for
the people. Suppose agriculture on the island is developed and increased. In that case, this could
mean an increase in the development of growth, poverty reduction, food security, production,
employment, environmental stability, and better economic status for Puerto Rico. Agriculture
is the sector that feeds the country; this means that it is a crucial part of the country and the
lives of the people. Thus, agriculture in Puerto Rico can benefit the people and the island by
commercially expanding agriculture and producing our food.

Project Background

Technical writing is a course that all undergraduate students in the biology department
have to take. Professor Pier Le Compte Zambrana gives this class. This course teaches how to
write technical documents with the proper format or design, which will help develop
professional and personal development for our careers. For this purpose, we have been learning
through the semester from August to December 2020 about different aspects and the format
that documents have. We have also learned how to write depending on the type of structure
using. This writing of a document needs to be concise, accurate, clear, and correct. This final
project consists of writing a progress report after visiting a farm and working for four
community service hours. Thus, Sorymel Negrón and Natalie Lopés Velasco visited “Finca
Buena Vibra,” and Krystal Mercado visited “Finca Calliope.” This project was conducted and
written by students of the ENGL 4021 section M03, Natalie Lopés Velasco, Sorymel Negrón,
Jadey Negrón, and Krystal Mercado.
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Task

To develop the project and complete the four service community hours, we divided the
work into two phases; organization and performance.

I. Organization

This project requires group communication and working. For this, we tried to coincide
to one farm, but one of the team members could not go. Thus, Natalie Lopés Velasco and
Sorymel Negrón did the four hours of community service in “Finca Buena Vibra” located in
Ponce, Puerto Rico. Krystal Mercado did four hours of community service in “Finca Calliope”
located in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.

II. Performance

A. The farmer, Mr. Rafael Rodríguez, gave an educational tour about the history
of coffee and the process that needs to be done. He then proceeded to
distribute the task to be performed that morning, which was;

• Coffee harvest
Natalie Lopés Velasco and Sorymel Negrón went to the area where the coffee
was planted. The coffee seeds were explicitly selected.

• Removal of the pulp and mucilage of the coffee seeds

Natalie Lopés Velasco and Sorymel Negrón helped Mr. Rafael Rodríguez
cleaned the coffee beans and put them to dry in the sun.

B. Krystal Mercado went to “Finca Calliope,” where she helped Mr. Emmanuel
Lamberty to;

• Cleaning
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Krystal Mercado helped clean and eliminated invasive plants that affect the plantations and
fruits grown on the farm.

Goals

This project aimed to discover, understand, and gain all the information possible about
agriculture and the history of the coffee plantation, and the process of cultivating it. Also,
another goal of this project was to help students see firsthand the importance of Agriculture
and to increase their knowledge in said topic. This objective was done by attending the “Finca
Buena Vibra” located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and “Finca Calliope” located in Adjuntas, Puerto
Rico. There, students had the opportunity to cultivate coffee beans, maintain them, and
understand the process of producing them. Also, by participating in these stated activities,
students can see the seriousness and importance of supporting local and individual farmers and
their crops.

Limitations

The only limitation was accessibility; since this farm is far away in a non-facilitated
location, many students faced transportation problems. The farm's road was rough and
difficult, giving the problem that not all cars could go on that road.

Future Projections

The farmer, Mr. Rafael Rodríguez, expressed his future projections about what he
wanted to do with the farm in the future. He desires to transform the farm where tourists could
go to learn about coffee and the coffee process. He would tour them through the farm, and at
the end of the tour, he would guide them to a little shop where people could try his coffee and
buy some if desired. Mr. Rafael wants to get all the permits and documents required to make
this happen. Also, he wants to expand his crops with different fruits. Mr. Rodríguez wants to
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

cultivate various kinds of coffee seeds and brands to have coffee diversity. He also wants to
have the opportunity to employ young, caring, and interested people who value and like the
process of harvesting and processing the fruits and seeds. Mr. Rafael’s Rodríguez crops have
a variety of organic food of good quality and flavor, which he sees for the future to open a
market for these products.

Conclusion

Agriculture is an essential part of Puerto Rico. The history and life that are connected with
agriculture in Puerto Rico are undiscussable. After doing this project, we learned the
importance, extraordinary dedication, hard work, and intense labor of agriculture and the coffee
industry. We focused on the coffee crops and learned about the story of coffee in Puerto Rico,
its requirements to grow, and the process it goes to have coffee in a cup that we drink. As a
group, we learned and gained a lot of information and experience, which is essential in our
lives. This project has allowed us to widen our minds and give us more knowledge about our
ancestors' roots through agriculture. The owners of “Finca Buena Vibra” and “Finca Calliope”
were excellent at answering our questions and giving us that background story of agriculture
history. This project report has been done on schedule, and it has been concluded accordingly.
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Appendix A

Service Log of the group members; Natalie Lopés Velasco, Sorymel Negrón, and
Krystal Mercado.
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Appendix B

Minutes of the group meetings

Call to Order:

A regular meeting of the group team 4 of the Course ENGL 4021 M03 of the University of
Puerto Rico at Ponce was held remotely via Google Meets video conference on September
17th, 2020. The meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., Natalie Lopés Velasco presiding and Krystal
Mercado Hernández, secretary. All members of the group attended except Mileyshka Loyo.

Approval of Minutes:

No prior minutes were approved since this was the first meeting.

Matters Discussed:

1.The progress report has five students, and Natalie Lopés Velasco created a
WhatsApp group chat titled Progress Report with all team members.
2.The members divided the responsibilities of the progress report as;
(a) Natalie Lopés Velasco as the leader, researcher, information gatherer,
language coach, and timekeeper.
(b) Krystal Mercado as the secretary for the work.
(c) Sorymel Negrón as the materials manager.
(d) Jadey Negrón as the materials manager.
3. The group chose the farm “Finca Buena Vibra,” located in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

Submitted by:

_______________________ September 25th, 2020

Krystal N. Mercado Hernández, Secretary Date of Approval
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Call to Order:

A regular meeting of the group team 4 of the Course ENGL 4021 M03 of the University of Puerto
Rico at Ponce was held remotely via Google Meets video conference on September 25th,2020. The
meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., Natalie Lopés Velasco presiding and Krystal Mercado Hernández,
secretary. All members attended except: Mileyshka Loyo.


Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of September 17th, 2020 meeting were approved as distributed to the members of the
group.


Matters Discussed:

1. The members decided to go to the farm “Finca Buena Vibra” on November 20th,
2020, at 8:30 a.m.

2. The group team accorded to do a safety plan to protect our health with;
1. Masks
2. Hand sanitizer
3. Alcohol

3. Krystal Mercado mentioned she was going to another farm named “Finca
Calliope,” located in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, on November 25th, 2020.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

Submitted by:

_______________________ September 29th, 2020

Krystal N. Mercado Hernández, Secretary Date of Approval
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Call to Order

A regular meeting of the group team 4 of the Course ENGL 4021 M03 of the University of Puerto
Rico at Ponce was held remotely via Google Meets video conference on November 15th, 2020. The
meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., Natalie Lopés Velasco presiding and Krystal N Mercado Hernández,
secretary. All members attended except: Mileyshka Loyo.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of September 25th,, 2020 meeting were approved previously in the group chat on
September 29th, 2020.

Matters Discussed:

1.The divisions of the project were discussed and distributed as;

• Natalie Lopés Velasco in charge of the introduction, background, reference, and

editing of the document.
• Sorymel Negrón in charge of the tasks, plans, and description of the photo activities.
• Jayde Negrón in order of the conclusion and the goals of the project and the farmer's
goal.
• Krystal Mercado in charge of the Minutes.

2. The Google Drive document was created to write the progress report.
3. Jayde Negrón mentioned that she was not going to do the four community service hours.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Submitted by:

_______________________ November 24th, 2020

Krystal N. Mercado Hernández, Secretary Date of Approval
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Call to Order:

A regular meeting of the group team 4 of the Course ENGL 4021 M03 of the University of Puerto
Rico at Ponce was held remotely via Google Meets video conference on November 24th, 2020. The
meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., Natalie Lópes Velasco presiding and Krystal N Mercado Hernández,
secretary. All members attended except: Mileyshka Loyo.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of November 15th, 2020 meeting were approved as distributed to the group.

Matters Discussed:

1.Discussed questions about the progress report.

2.Verify the parts written in the Google Drive document.

3. The team discussed that all parts of the project needed to be uploaded before November
27th, 2020.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Submitted by:

_______________________ November 25th, 2020

Krystal N. Mercado Hernández, Secretary Date of Approval
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Appendix C

Activity photos in the farms of the group members; Natalie Lopés Velasco, Sorymel
Negrón, and Krystal Mercado

Figure 1: Natalie Lopés Velasco collected the mature coffee beans in the farm “Finca Buena
Vibra.” Sorymal Negrón took the picture.

Figure 2: Sorymel Negrón collected mature coffee beans in the farm “Finca Buena
Vibra.” Natalie Lopés Velasco took the picture.
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Figure 3: Collected ripe coffee beans after harvest. Natalie Lopés Velasco took the photo.

Figure 4: Changing the ripe coffee beans from the basket to secure it. Natalie Lopés Velasco
took the photo.
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Figure 5: Krystal Mercado cleaning the harvest area and eliminating invasive grasses that
affect crops. The photo was taken by Emmanuel Lamberty Rosado, the farm owner of “Finca
Calliope.”
 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

Appendix D

Self Reflection of the project

 University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
English Department

References

Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/agriculture

Byerlee, Derek, Alain de Janvry, and Elisabeth Saudolet. Agriculture for Development:

Toward a New Paradigm, Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 1, No. 1,

2009.

Diaz, I., & Hunsberger, C. (2018, October 24). Can agroecological coffee be part of a food

sovereignty strategy in Puerto Rico? Retrieved December 01, 2020, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718518303191

Dietz, James. Economic History of Puerto Rico: Institutional Change and Capitalist

Development, (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1986).

Eeg2@illinois.edu, & Eeg2@illinois.edu. (2017, January 15). Retrieved December 01, 2020,

from https://publish.illinois.edu/lfr/2017/01/15/agriculture-in-puerto-rico-a-brief-

analysis/