Café de Eleta coffee not only has an aroma, fragrance, flavor and body recognized by experts, it also allows us to express our commitment and our customers’ commitment to the welfare of our country.
We Eradicate Child Labor
Between November and March, a great majority of indigenous families—including children—harvest the coffee produced in Central America. In our farm, boys and girls don’t work: during those months, they study, play and built mutually respectful relationships with the non-indigenous community.
We have an alliance with Casa Esperanza, a non-governmental organization that promotes the eradication of child labor, guaranteeing the education of indigenous children in the daycare/school we have built on our premises. Café de Eleta pays for expenses related to operating costs, food, educational tools, school supplies and transportation to and from the daycare/school. At the end of every harvest cycle, Casa Esperanza evaluates the children’s experience—with technical assistance from UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO)—and Café de Eleta implements their recommendations.
We Value the Dignity of Labor
Café de Eleta has built a residential complex with a wide range of facilities, including sports areas, with the goal of promoting the health and wellbeing of all employees and their families. Three years after the implementation of our adult literacy program, all of the Ngöbe Buglé people who work permanently in our farm had learned to read and write and had acquired basic math skills. This year, after reconsidering the restrictions imposed by their culture, the wives of the indigenous workers will join the program.
Additionally:
- We provide scholarship assistance for the workers’ children.
- We give financial support to a state healthcare plan for workers and their families, which includes vaccination, worming, nutritional plans, family planning, prenatal care and dental care.
- The cost of manual labor in Panama and Costa Rica is among the highest in the region.
We promote these and other measures among coffee growers hoping that Panama’s export coffee business sets an example for our country and also to give our customers a reason to get to know us a little better.
We Respect the Environment
One of our most prized possessions is the land where we grow Café de Eleta. We are located within the buffer zone of La Amistad International Park—which is shared by Panama and Costa Rica— and are a part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor; these two valuable yet fragile areas are home to many species that are becoming extinct. Every day we worry about protecting them. A forest ranger patrols the border between the farm and the nature reserves on horse. Café de Eleta’s employees are trained to help save the flora and fauna. We are implementing a reforestation program that plants 5,000 native species every year. For soil fertilization and plague control we follow strict guidelines that require the use of organic or environmentally friendly products.