Date: May 17, 2021

To: Pier A. Le Compte Zambrana, English Professor at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Campus
From: María del C. Vélez Colón - Leader
Jaleisha J. Vélez Velázquez - Secretary
Aryam A. Torres Torres - Researcher
Liz M. Torres Torres - Language Coach, Researcher
Génesis P. Suriel Jaquez - Information Gatherer

Subject: Finca Buena Vibra Progress Report

Introductory Summary

Members of this group volunteered at Finca Buena Vibra, intending to reach and recognize the
difficulties that the previously mentioned estate met from January 19, 2021 through May 17, 2021.
As a requirement of this project of the Course ENGL 4021, each member of this group completed
four hours of community service at Finca Buena Vibra. This report mentions the completed tasks
at the farm, such as tree trimming and the removal of coffee cherries from trees. Also, this report
highlights what we learned from Rafael Rodríguez, one of the owners of Finca Buena Vibra, about
the coffee production process. Furthermore, Rodríguez shared his future plans regarding coffee
production and expressed his concerns about modern problems that agriculture and farmers meet
in Puerto Rico. Few limitations were encountered during this experience leading us to share some
recommendations.

Background

Finca Buena Vibra is an estate with its beginnings in 2015 by a family of farmers dedicated to the
cultivation of Arabic coffee. The farm is located at PR-511 Km. 14.3 Barrio Real Anón, 00780
Ponce, Puerto Rico. Rafael Rodríguez and his sister, Alexandra Rodríguez, are the owners of the
estate. Both siblings worked hard to raise the money they needed to buy the land for agriculture
purposes. At Finca Buena Vibra, besides coffee, many plants are cultivated, such as cocoa, orange,
plantains, banana, yucca, among others. Also, the Rodríguez family practices apiculture to obtain
honey. One difficulty they face is that they have only one employee who works three days a week
for a couple of hours at the estate. Therefore, Rafael Rodríguez does most of the work alone. For
this reason, Rafael accepts volunteers, not only from Puerto Rico, but also from other parts of the
world to help.

Work Planned
As a group, our plan was to visit Finca Buena Vibra to complete four hours of community service
and to learn more about the process of coffee production and crop maintenance. In addition, we
wanted to learn about the current problem’s local farmers face on the island. Finally, we wanted
to have the experience of going to an estate and enjoy the benefits of volunteering as a team.

Work Completed

Task 1: Collect the coffee beans

During this task we walked the farm to collect the coffee beans. It is a simple task that consists of
taking the red coffee beans, giving them a little turn, and gently pulling them. Coffee beans that
have small holes should be discarded because they contain a pest that damages them inside. The
easiest way to determine if coffee beans are infected is to put them in a bucket filled with water.
Floating coffee beans mean that they are hollow due to the pest and must be discarded. We were
also able to see what an infected coffee bean looks like inside. This is seen with black sections that
represent the excrement of the insect after eating that fragment of the coffee bean.

Task 2: Coffee tree pruning

During this task we cut the branches that were in the lower part of the coffee trees or those that
were dry and had no leaves to stimulate the emergence of new branches. Coffee plants should be
pruned back during the spring months to maintain a fuller, bushy appearance and generally shape
the plant. We did it with pruning shears cutting and doing it very carefully to not damage the plant
or cut healthy green branches.

Current Work

Task 1: Coffee Planting

The owner explained to us that this time is not the best time to harvest coffee as it is a good time
to plant it. After the seeds have germinated, they are transplanted into the ground. Although
insurance requires farmers to grow coffee in the sun, in reality the best way to grow coffee is in
the shade. Therefore, you can transplant the plants in a field where you have other plants. The bush
that is used most frequently to give coffee leftovers is plantain, since it can grow in similar terrain
and in the presence of sun. Therefore, they are two plants that complement each other.

Future plans

Task 1: Improve the coffee roasting process

The coffee roasting process is by means of heat after the coffee has been dried. Depending on the
amount of time that the coffee is left heating, it will be the degree of roast that it will have.
Similarly, as you increase the roast, the bean will become darker. This step is of vital importance
since it will also determine the taste of the final result. The estate owner explained to us that he
still needs to perfect this process to find the ideal roast point. Rodríguez also stated that he has
plans of acquiring a new machine to help him achieve a better result.

Task 2: Use special drawers for drying coffee

To dry the coffee, the owner of the farm leaves it on the roof to give it the sun. The problem with
this method is that if it rains and the coffee gets wet, those particular coffee beans are already
damaged. The other technique that would be safer is through the use of drawers that allow drying
but at the same time protect the coffee from the rain.

Problems Encountered

The main problem encountered during our visit to the farm was the season. The owner explained
to us that this is a dead period for coffee since there is almost no harvest. Therefore, he considers
this to be his vacation period. Still, there are always some coffee beans that need to be collected as
soon as they are ripe as this reduces the chance that pests will continue to spread to the new coffee
crops. On the other hand, students who attend the farm during the first semester of classes will
have a lot to work since that is the harvest period. Also, when we were on our way to the farm,
there were no signs to show us the way to the farm. The GPS did not help, because the signal on
the road was not stable. Another problem was that just at the entrance of the farm the road was not
very good, and it was difficult to follow because the cars were slipping. On the other hand,
Rodríguez faces another problem that limits him and his goal of perfecting his product. That is the
lack of monetary resources to acquire better machinery for the process of preparing the coffee.
Estates like Rafael’s do not receive any sort of fund, making it difficult to collect the nearly
$35,000 needed to buy good quality machinery. On top of that, the local support is minimum.
People refuse to pay a little more for local products and rather invest less in imported products.
This contributes to the monetary struggle estates like Rafael’s constantly face.

Conclusion

Sustainable agriculture is an issue that is in constant discussion in Puerto Rico. This is because we
are a tropical island with an ideal climate and soil for cultivation. Our lands are full of the nutrients
necessary to produce food in polyculture. In addition, our climate has the necessary conditions for
a wide variety of fruits. Unfortunately, laws imposed by the government do not favor new farmers.
Even so, there are still entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to grow their farms and estates.
Finca Buena Vibra is one of these estates that do everything possible to get the most out of their
lands, regardless of the laws that they want to impose in the country. An example of this is the fact
that the estate does not have insurance since there is a law that allows insurance companies to
require monocultures on the coffee plantation. Scientifically it is proven that coffee is a plant that
has a better performance when grown in polyculture environments. Therefore, this estate is always
thinking about the highest yield that the soil can have, even if that represents a risk in case of
emergencies. We hope that Puerto Rico's agricultural industry will continue to grow and that the
laws that limit farmers will be reassessed for the benefit of farmers.

Recommendations

Based on our experience at Finca Buena Vibra, we recommend the following actions to be taken:

1. Since it is hard to find the farm's exact location, we recommend incorporating flyers along
the path that can give directions to visitors and a sign at the slope that makes the entrance
to the farm.
2. The construction of fences in certain areas could be a solution to the problem of pigs that
affect the production rate by eating and destroying the crops.
3. The farm has a wide area and there are several tasks that must be carried out in order to
guarantee its growth, productivity and preservation. Therefore, we recommend the
organization of activities that promote volunteering on the farm and, if possible, hiring
more people. This could lead to the success of the farm.
4. To help increase the sale of the product and make the estate better known, we recommend
participation in local fairs so that people can gain knowledge of it and the product it sells.
Appendix A: Progress Report Minutes
Appendix B: Evidence of the work performed by all members through
the Service Log document
Appendix C: Photos

Figure 1. Jaleisha J. Vélez Velázquez, María del Carmen Vélez Colón, and Génesis Suriel Jaquez
arriving at Finca Buena Vibra. Photo taken by Rafael Rodríguez, owner of Finca Buena Vibra,
March 2021.

Figure 2. Génesis Suriel Jaquez collecting coffee. Photo taken by Jaleisha J. Vélez Velázquez,
March 2021.
Figure 3. María del Carmen Vélez Colón collecting coffee. Photo taken by Jaleisha J. Vélez
Velázquez, March 2021.

Figure 4. Jaleisha J. Vélez Velázquez collecting coffee. Photo taken by María del Carmen Vélez
Colón, March 2021.
Figure 5. Génesis Suriel Jaquez showing the coffee beans collected. Photo taken by Jaleisha J.
Vélez Velázquez, March 2021.

Figure 6. Jaleisha J. Vélez Velázquez showing the coffee beans collected. Photo taken by María
del Carmen Vélez Colón, March 2021.
Figure 7. Machine in which the process of pulping coffee is done. Photo taken by Jaleisha J.
Vélez Velázquez, March 2021.
Figure 8. Aryam A. Torres Torres, Yoralis Toribio Santiago, and Liz M. Torres Torres leaving
Finca Buena Vibra. Photo taken by Rafael Rodríguez, owner of Finca Buena Vibra, March
2021.

Figure 9. Liz M. Torres Torres showing the coffee beans collected. Photo taken by Aryam A.
Torres Torres, March 2021.
Figure 10. Aryam A. Torres Torres collecting coffee beans. Photo taken by Liz M. Torres
Torres, March 2021.

Figure 11. View from Finca Buena Vibra at Ponce, Puerto Rico. Photo taken by Aryam A.
Torres Torres, March 2021.
Figure 12. Coffee of Finca Buena Vibra prepared by Rafael Rodríguez, owner of Finca Buena
Vibra. Photo taken by Liz M. Torres Torres, March 2021.