Name of Product: Ceibal Coffee
Product Type: Beverages
MP Region: North and Central America and the Caribbean
Country of origin: Panama
Name of the Mountain Area: Central Cordillera, Santa Fe
Altitude Range: Class 5: elevation 1 000-1 500 m and slope ≥5 or LER > 300 m
Narrative label: Ceibal Coffee is traditionally grown by mountain family farmers in the protected Santa Fe park area and its surroundings with traditional practices that preserve the local culture and natural resources. The mixture of the warm and humid tropical climate, the fertile volcanic and loam soil and the high altitude determines its unique characteristics. The cultivation of coffee is one of the main income sources for many of these farmers and offers them a chance to access new markets.

Production
The shade-grown cultivation technique ensures the conservation of environmental, polycultural and agroforestal biodiversity and plays a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. It reduces soil erosion and nutrient loss while also respecting the ground cover, trees and their extensive root systems. Producers carefully pre-treat coffee seeds and in the end dry the beans in trays inside solar tents to avoid any contact with the ground.

Territory
This coffee is cultivated and processed in Calobre village, located at 1 200 meters above sea level in the Panamanian Central Cordillera, on the edge of the protected Santa Fe National Park. The crop has been cultivated in this area since 1950. Its proximity to the volcano La Yeguada, one of the four active volcanoes in Panama, determines the peculiar soil features that make the taste of Ceibal Coffee unique.

Tradition
Farmers use traditional practices for planting, harvesting, drying and selecting coffee beans. For example, they follow the phases of the moon to define the exact planting time.

Producer
Fundación CoMunidad is an NGO founded in 2007 in Panama that works on the interactions among social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects through specific projects. Among them is Ceibal Coffee, an activity that involves an association of 49 family farmers.
Producer: Fundación Comunidad
Contact person: Alberto Pascual; [email protected]
Labelled since: 13.04.2017
Label latest verification: 13.04.2017
Type of producer: Family farmer, Cooperative
Smallholder: yes
Size of company: 11-20 people
Distribution channel: Direct sale
At risk of disappearing: Yes, climate change is increasing the risk of coffee plantations disappearing due to the changes in precipitation patterns, droughts, storms, rising temperatures and crop disease.
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