Property details
| Property code | 00007CA |
| Category | Featured Properties / Coffee Farms / COFFEE FARM - ECO-LODGE / Farmland |
| Location | Nicaragua, Matagalpa, Matagalpa |
| Sale price | US$ 1,500,000.00 |
| Property Size: | 454 Acres / 261 Mzns / 182 Ha |
| Infrastructure: | 10,000 sqft |
| Road Condition: | 99% Paved |
| Distance from Province: | 1.25 hrs / 37.28 miles from Matagalpa |
| Elevation: | 2,382 – 3,937 FASL (726 – 1,200 MASL) |
Description
On a global scale, farmland is becoming a scarce resource; the purchase of productive farmland will enable you to own a stake in the global food supply chain. The global demand for coffee and agricultural products keeps growing.
This Coffee Estate is located only 37.28 miles away from Matagalpa City, in the central mountainous region of Nicaragua, Central America, at elevations between 2,382 – 3,937 Feet Above Sea Level (726 – 1,200 MASL).
Prime Location for coffee farming. Some Acres of the Coffee Estate is inside The Peñas Blancas Massif Natural Reserve which is part of the huge Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which is the largest natural reserve in Central America.
The Peñas Blancas Massif area is one of the most fertile areas for farmland in Nicaragua due to the: large flowing rivers borne in its Massifs, elevations and climate maintains vegetation green all year round. The current photos of the farm were taken during Nicaragua’s driest season 1 month before rainy season, and it’s evident that the coffee trees look green, leafy and full of green cherries. In other areas of Nicaragua where coffee is also grown coffee trees are just starting to flourish, here most of the trees already have the green cherry developed, so ripening of the cherry will happen sooner.
The coffee plantation is made up of 123.54 Acres of coffee at elevations between 2,625 - 3,937 Feet Above Sea Level. The coffee varieties being grown in this farm are: Costa Rica 95 high yield variety, Maragojipe, Catimore and Caturra Estrella.
This coffee estate has very young and healthy coffee plantations: 40% of the plantations are between 1st and 2nd harvests and only 60% are between 3rd and 5th harvests.
This coffee estate is forecasted to produce 640,000 pounds of parchment coffee or 320,000 pounds of raw coffee / green coffee beans in 123.54 Acres of land (2021 harvest was 185,800 pounds in 123.54 acres but forecast shows better yields when younger plants start producing full yield). The coffee plantations can expand to 182.7 more acres of land without affecting the acres which are inside of the natural reserve. By growing the coffee plantation to a total of 306.24 acres, your total harvest could become 520,000 pounds of coffee (conservative numbers)
The Agroforestry system in this Coffee Estate helps preserve hundreds of bird species, wild cats, howler monkeys, sloths, owls, and other wildlife species. Not to mention the preservation of water springs.
There’s an incredible potential for building an Ecolodge with amazing views of the mountains, forests, valleys, coffee plantations; a place where guests will be able to walk trails surrounded by coffee plantations, waterfalls, pristine water rivers, and a huge natural reserve as the back yard.
INFRASTRUCTURE: The Coffee Estate has:
One wood country house (861 sqft total built)
2 Wet Mills (one with 968 sqft total built and a second one with 753 sqft total built)
2 Chutes for dumping the coffee into the wet mill
2 pulping machines (with combustion stationary motors)
Brush up machines with its stationary combustion motors,
2 fermentation tanks (WATER IS RECICLED)
Warehouse for fertilizers, coffee picking baskets, fumigation, spraying equipment etc.
Electricity: The grid runs inside the farm, there are exterior lamps that lights the farms internal roads.
Other Areas
Kitchen for workers with its lunch area, 3 dorms for 370 coffee pickers, and warehouse.
Small lagoon to raise fish, Water tanks for coffee honey waters.
- A 2.5 miles internal gravel road runs inside of the coffee farm.
SOILS: Clay Loam / Rich Volcanic Soils
CLIMATE: The Farms location provides the perfect conditions to produce high ground quality coffees: cool temperatures 59 – 75.2 F average (15-24 C), perfect rain patterns (2,000 – 2,500 mm/year), clean mountain air, clean and fresh river and rainwater.
ELEVATION: The coffee is grown at elevations ranging from 2,625 – 3,937 Feet Above Sea Level (800 – 1,200 MASL). It is a well-known fact that the higher the elevation in which coffee is grown, the better the quality. The reason for this is that the coffee ripening process is slower so the bean has more time to fully develop all its characteristics of acidity, body, & aroma.
COFFEE VARIETY: The best quality coffee varieties are planted in the farm -
Costa Rica 95, Maragojipe, Catimore y Caturra Estrella. These coffee varieties exhibit outstanding cup quality.
All these factors help to create a unique and outstanding cup of coffee showing a pronounced acidity, strong body, and sweet aroma, the finest coffee Nicaragua has to offer.
OTHER CROPS
1. Bananas: There are at least 36,000 thousand banana trees growing inside the coffee plantation. These bananas are sold to the local markets. In addition, 6,300 banana trees are being grown in 12.18 acres for the sake of banana growing.
2. Onions: 5.22 acres are being grown with Onions for supplying the local market.
3. Potatoes: There’s a huge acreage dedicated to potatoes growing.
4. Other Crops: Citric, beans, corn, yucca among other crops are also grown.
PROCESS
Our high ground coffees are processed using the Wet Method which is considered the process of higher quality and is traded at a higher price level.
Sorting and cleaning are necessary after harvesting the ripe cherries. After sorting and cleaning, the pulp is removed from the cherry. This process is the main difference between dry and wet methods, as the flesh is separated from the fruit before drying. The step is referred to as "pulping".
The pulping is done by machine - the cherries are pressed between fixed and moving surfaces. The flesh and the skin of the fruit remain on one side, the beans still enclosed in their parchment on the other side. The distance of the moving surfaces is constantly adapted so that the beans are not damaged.
Next, the coffee cherry's mucilage is removed through fermentation, in this coffee farm a system which reduces labor in the coffee wet mill by 50% has been implemented. Finally, the beans are dried, either in the sunlight or using forced-air drying.
In our case, the coffee beans are sun-dried in a Coffee Mill of our choosing. There are many Coffee Mills in Matagalpa which provide that service.
Electricity runs in the farm, though the wet mill is powered by combustion stationary motors and a water wheel.
Labor in Rural Nicaragua is the cheapest in Central America starting @ $0.92 / hr.
Call/text for details: US +1 (202)-241-3184 ; Nicaragua +(505) 8354-4534 (Whatsapp - phone calls)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
Ephesians 6:10-18
Observations
Peñas Blancas Massif
Nicaragua has plenty of spectacular yet rather unexplored and unknown tourist destinations. A large mountain mass, known as the Peñas Blancas Massif, located in the northern departments of Jinotega and Matagalpa, is one of these stunning places where few people have heard of. However, this area provides plenty of attractions for tourists, including beautiful rain forest, large waterfalls, superb viewpoints, and interesting rural communities. With this Special, we aim to increase the public’s knowledge of a destination that has certainly a lot of tourism potential.
The Peñas Blancas Massif
A massif is a section of the earth’s crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In other words, it is a region or an area that is visibly moved by the earth’s tectonic forces, much like a mountain but generally as a more separated formation, due to the fact that the area is lifted as a whole. The Peñas Blancas Massif is part of the larger Isabelia Mountain Range, which stretches along with the Jinotega department, forming a natural separator of on one side the Bocay and Coco Rivers (and their tributaries) and on the other side the tributaries of the Tuma River.
The massif is situated in both the Jinotega and the Matagalpa department, covering in total three different municipalities (La Dalia and Rancho Grande in Matagalpa, and Cuá-Bocay in Jinotega). In November 1999 the government declared this area, measuring 115.54 Km², a Natural Reserve, in order to protect the primary forests and the important role the area plays in the water balance of a much larger region.
The Peñas Blancas Massif is most notorious for the steep cliff-like walls that arise from the earth’s crust. The presence of calcium gives some of these walls a white color, which explains the name (Peñas Blancas means White Rocks). Due to these particular geographical formations, the ecosystems that are present are rather enclosed and therefore capable of housing endemic animal or plant species.
Nature
One of the most important attractions of the area is the spectacular natural setting. Not only does the massif hold pristine forest areas, but there are also other aspects that make this a natural hotspot. The Peñas Blancas Massif is part of the huge Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which is the largest natural reserve in Central America. The massif, therefore, holds an important role in safeguarding the biosphere’s biodiversity and ensuring the survival of species that live in the particular habitats that the Peñas Blancas reserve houses. Cloud and rain forests are found in this area, which are fragile yet very important forest types that are threatened throughout the world. The region is situated at altitudes between 800 and 1,745 meters above sea level, and the parts located above 1,000 meters receive between 1,200 and 2,500 mm of precipitation per year. The rainy season extends from May until February (although this pattern has been changing unpredictably in the past years), and unlike virtually all other parts of Nicaragua, there is not one single period of hot summer days in the Peñas Blancas Massif. Although the sun does brighten the day every now and then, there is no such thing as a prolonged dry and sunny period. The median temperatures range between 20 and 24 °C. The heavy rainfall makes the region an important chain in the water balance. Streams, creaks, and waterfalls are among the most common natural elements here, and water from this area feeds several of Nicaragua’s most important rivers, the Coco River and the Rio Grande, which both ultimately empty in the Caribbean Sea. Consequently, protecting the natural processes and the water quality is not only a local issue but rather of national importance.
A major part of the vegetation at the Peñas Blancas Massif is evergreen, meaning that leaves are not shed and the tree leaves maintain their green color throughout the year. Due to the high fertility of the soil and the abundance of water, vegetation is abundant and often measures an impressive size. Whereas lower mountain forests generally have trees that reach a height of 30-35 meters, the trees in this area can measure up to 50 meters. Vegetation that can be found at Peñas Blancas includes trees like Black Oak, Granadillo, and Walnut Trees, as well as giant tree ferns, orchids, bromeliads, heliconias, and palm trees. This large variety of beautiful plants and trees make it spectacular to hike in this area.
When it comes to both flora and fauna there have been few scientific investigations and an exact list of neither plant nor animal species can be given. However, among the animals that have been identified are many mammal species including monkeys (White-headed Capuchin, Mantled Howler Monkeys, and Spider Monkeys), jaguars, pumas, tapirs, and pacas, among others. Plenty of bird species have also been identified, including flycatchers, hummingbirds, parakeets, solitaires, tanagers, warblers, and wrens. A rare bird species that can be found in the Peñas Blancas Massif and only at a few other sites in Nicaragua is the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), which breeds at higher elevations in the cloud forests. The Quetzal population is expected to be relatively large but the loss of habitat makes it hard for this beautiful bird species to maintain its population at this level.
A wide variety of frogs and toads can also be found at Peñas Blancas, and often species are seen that are not found at many other places in Nicaragua. Again, lack of investigation makes it unsure to say if there are any rare if not endemic species. This also applies to the reptiles that live here, including snakes and lizards.
The communities living at Peñas Blancas
The fertility of the soil and the abundance of water made the massif an interesting place to settle. Thousands of years ago this area was inhabited by indigenous tribes (mostly Miskito and Mayagna people), but during times of the Spanish conquest these tribes fled to what is currently the RAAN department (Waspan, Siuna, etc.) and the area was uninhabited for a while. However, families from the Jinotega and Condega areas started to migrate to this region and currently, there are some 280 families living in the Peñas Blancas Massif.
The people in the region have traditionally been dedicated to farming activities, which is why a certain part of the massif was used as farmland. The main products were coffee and bananas, which made the local economy vulnerable as it depended on these two products only. In recent years, however, things have been changing.
Since the year 2000, the communities have undergone a process of setting up cooperatives, with the support of organizations that operate in this area. There are five different communities, and each community has its own cooperative. These cooperatives are characterized by a high degree of commonly organized and shared activities, aiming to benefit the community as a whole, involving each family in the different activities.
The principal organization that is present in the region is the Centro de entendimiento con la Naturaleza (CEN), which aims to stimulate the investigation and development of institutional indigenous villages, municipalities, and rural organizations. The CNU has investigation centers in Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and its main goals at Peñas Blancas are to protect the water sources and the natural environment while conserving and restoring indigenous aspects and promoting sustainable development of the rural communities.
One of the consequences of the efforts of the CNU has been the introduction of agricultural diversification, which means that farmers in the area nowadays not only plant bananas and coffee but a larger variety of products. This makes the producers less vulnerable to price changes, diseases, and bad seasons, while also improving the sustainability of the production, as the soil is less intensively used. Instead of planting on large tracks of farmland, the CNU has introduced a form of planting agricultural products within the secondary forest that has replaced the previous pasture area. The first harvests of tomato, potatoes, cabbage, and pepper have shown that this method indeed yields the same or better results as the previous methods, while significantly increasing sustainability.
The abundance of water and the well-conserved natural setting have furthermore made this a sanctuary for the Maya people. In the beliefs of these ancient tribes water is one of the principal elements, and every year people from several other Latin American countries (mostly Guatemala) travel to the Peñas Blancas Massif to practice ancient rituals, honoring this sacred area.
During Eastern Week the local population bathes in the rivers and in the streams, which is common in Nicaragua during this particular week (see our Eastern Week Special). A not-so-common practice involves covering the body with white clay found in the area, in order to heal and improve the skin, which is also done during Easter Week.
Getting to know the rural population at the Peñas Blancas Massif is certainly an interesting option for visitors. The local population knows a lot about the area and about local practices and habits, which can certainly be interesting to foreign visitors. Options to stay at the homes of local farmers (more information below) should certainly be considered when interested in learning more about the way of living in this area.
Visiting the Peñas Blancas Massif
Tourists are welcome to visit this unexplored area, and although it takes some more effort to visit than other, more developed areas; the Peñas Blancas Massif is certainly worth the effort for people interested in nature that do not sun a certain touch of adventure.
When it comes to tourism infrastructure the Alliance for Rural, Community-Based Tourism (Alianza para el Turismo Comunitario Rural de Peñas Blancas) is trying to set up lodging options in all five communities, and so far there are possibilities in two different communities. There is one eco-lodge in the community of Peñas Blancas (this is the name of the community), providing a rustic, simple ambiance, and there are also lodging options at the homes of farmers in this same community and in the community called Valle de Los Lyra. Visitors should not provide luxury or a wide variety of amenities, but tourists can count on the warm hospitality of their hosts.
Two main types of activities form the main attraction in this area: exploring the stunning natural settings and getting to know the rural population and their way of living. People interested in nature and hiking can find a wide array of activities, involving the exploration of the forests, waterfalls, viewpoints, and other natural attractions. Due to the fact that tourists are just beginning to arrive here, there are not many well-prepared trails or visitor centers like at other natural reserves. However, there are quite some hiking options varying in length and difficulty.
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