About 

“Our farm is rich in volcanic soil part way up the Atitlán Volcano, rising above Lake Atitlán, where the south wind almost daily brings a moist cloud covering, providing natural afternoon shade to the coffee trees.”

Finca Pampojilá was founded and formally registered at the end of the 19th century. For over 150 years, the farm has been in coffee production in the beautiful mountains south – side of Lake Atitlán, and for many decades it’s been well – known for high quality coffees. In 2012, The Alex Herrera family acquired the finca and renovated it after flooding from tropical storm Agatha. Through the planting of better varieties of Arabica coffee, they saw production, quality, and plant health improve rapidly.

At Finca Pampojilá, regenerative agriculture is at the core of the production model, aiming to restore and enhance agricultural ecosystems while producing high-quality coffee. Practices include crop diversification to strengthen soil resilience and biodiversity, leaving weeds as natural cover crops, and growing coffee under shade to mimic forest conditions and protect against soil erosion. Vermicompost is used to nourish the plants organically, and all organic waste is returned to the farm to close nutrient cycles and reduce environmental impact.

The processing plant was modernized to better ferment and sun-dry the coffee. Pampojilá has a history of longstanding excellence that his family strives to improve and share for generations to come. Currently, this farm is planted with Ruiru – 11, Anacafé 14, Sarchimor, Geisha, Java & Marsellesa. 

About Pampojila 

It was following the Agatha storm in 2012 that Alex Herrera bought the Pampojila farm, whose production tools had been completely destroyed. Having restored it and through sheer determination, he managed to begin production again and in so doing restored jobs for about one hundred families. Since discovering coffee production at a farm like this, Alex sees coffee in a new light, and he now considers it a regional product. It is why he is fully committed to renovating and developing the farm, first by replanting coffee trees then by renovating the mill. Today he has 250 hectares of Caturra coffee trees planted at an altitude of between 1500 and 1,700 metres; the remaining 250 hectares serve as a nature reserve.

Alex Herrera

Alex Herrera owns the Finca Pampojila and Finca Panama farms. His plantations are located around the Atitlan volcano in the Solola region of the municipality of Santa Barbara. Alex Herrera has quite a unique polyculture plantation.In addition to producing coffee for more than 100 years, the farm also manages various other types of agricultural production, including the large-scale production of macadamia nuts, honey, rubber and quinine (known as a cure for malaria). His aim has always been to employ production practices that are responsible, sustainable and socially viable.