Santa Barbara, Honduras

The Lake Yojoa is an impressive natural reservoir of volcanic wate. Hosting an incredible diversity of aquatic animals and 50% of the bird species native to Honduras being found here.

The Santa Barbara mountain has been a National Park since 1987 and has an altitude of 2774 masl which makes it the second-highest mountain in Honduras. Its extensive forest is rich in diversity of flora, animal species, and exotic birds - like Quetzal and Colibrí Esmeralda.

Coffee began to be cultivated within this region in the 1940s, predominantly in the lowlands, although it was always a secondary economic sector. Starting in the 70s, coffee became the main economic sector in the area, promoted by the high prices at that time, with Typica and Bourbon the most common varieties.

By 2011 the region was affected by the Roya disease which destroyed most farms. Over the following few years, convinced to continue working with coffee, the producers started to renovate their farms including new varieties with resistance to Roya.

During this time, it became known about the potential of the specialty coffee, through the Cup of Excellence competition. Since then many producers started to experiment improving their processes and export micro-lots through the San Vicente mill.

Coffee has now become the core of economic success in these communities and an important cultural element.