As the largest Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farm in Costa Rica, Aquiares devotes 80 percent of its land to growing high quality coffee and the remaining 20 percent to conservation. Coffee plots are interlaced with over a dozen natural springs and almost 20 kilometers in streams, all protected with buffer zones in line with the property’s RA certification. These streams form a network of natural corridors through the farm that connect the large protected forests in the two river valleys, providing a healthy environment for the local animals, birds, and plants. The farm and the community at Aquiares are mutually connected. The farm provides services, land, security and honest jobs. In return, the coffee farm has benefited from a well-educated community and relies on highly skilled professionals from its community to thrive. Such a level of interdependence has helped contribute to the sense of pride that Aquiareños take in both their community and the coffee.
