Coffee Growing in Central America

Wed, Oct 25th 2023 at 12:40 pm - 2:00 pm

Nick Chambers is a coffee farmer in Nicaragua

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Nick Chalmers is a Fifer, born in Markinch, who retired to St Andrews but spent much of his career working abroad in South and Central America. In 2007 he bought 15 acres of land in the Jinotega region of Nicaragua, famed for the quality of its coffee beans, to create a coffee farm. He called it ‘Finca Linda Vista’ because of its beautiful view across Lake Apanás. Coffee grows best in the shade, so a precursor was the planting of banana and other trees. Excellent slides accompanied Nick’s account of the various stages of coffee production, from the initial planting of seedlings, through the flowering of the coffee plant and the harvesting of the berries to their preprocessing, prior to roasting, by the removal of the fleshy exterior by fermentation and washing, and ending with drying, preferably in the open air. Ecofriendly, sustainable production was of paramount concern to Nick when developing the land, which he has achieved by ensuring, for example, that the large quantities of water needed are recycled and that the discarded pulp is turned into fertiliser. As John Christie remarked when giving his vote of thanks, Nick’s talk generated ‘Muchas preguntas’. The region’s wonderful climate and the fruits and flowers that grow there were among its attractions for Nick and his wife. That used to draw large numbers of tourists to Nicaragua, now much reduced because of political instability, making coffee production even more important for the country’s economy. Harvesting by hand, in January and February, is a source of employment for many (as tattie picking once was in Scotland) and Nick’s workers sometimes ask for an advance payment in order to afford Christmas presents. His regular employees, one of whom sports a kilt, have their own basket ball team and the end of harvest party is a very special occasion.

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