About Finca Las Duanas

Finca Las Duanas is located in the Alotepec-Metapán mountain range in El Salvador, with mountains close to the sky where the clouds brush against each other and the birds celebrate the virtues of the land that feeds them. At 1910 meters above sea level, the farm is surrounded by picturesque landscapes, such as the Miramundo forest, full of flowers and pine trees; and with beautiful views of the towns of San Ignacio and La Palma in Chalatenango. Arriving at Finca Las Duanas is a memorable adventure, crossing paths, water springs and beautiful waterfalls.

The property belonged to Kriscia Mena's grandfather, Don Ignacio Mena, who was a farmer himself. At first, the land was used for other crops. However, the family decided to commit exclusively to growing coffee as a way of caring for the coffee forest in the region, protecting biodiversity, and maintaining the ecosystem. That passion for caring for the environment has been transmitted to all members of the Finca Las Duanas team, and now the farm and its surroundings are home to many animals such as endangered deer, snakes, squirrels and cusucos. For Kriscia and her family it is very important to adopt eco-friendly practices so as not to pollute the air and keep the water clean.

For Kriscia's family, their path as coffee growers has not been easy. Although his father, Enrique Mena Gutiérrez, became a leader and motivator for the family to work in the coffee industry, at the beginning, they were not entirely convinced. They perceived many obstacles, they thought that the farm was very far from their home, access was not easy - as there was no road open to access, they had to ride on horseback to get to the farm - and no one in the family had much experience in growing coffee. In addition, investments had to be made so that their coffee harvests were high quality.

At first, the climate, the lush nature and the water springs at the farm attracted Kriscia for hikes. But she was inspired by watching the cycle of life of the plants and fell in love with coffee by helping with the first harvests.

Then Kriscia started researching the market and opportunities to sell her coffee. It was in this way that she met more people in the industry including the Trifinio Association. They confirmed what Kriscia's family had already known, that the farm's potential was great and their coffee could give a very good quality due to various characteristics, including its location and altitude.

Now, the work at Finca Las Duanas is divided between the family and their collaborators. Kriscia's father, Enrique, is the owner and boss; her brother coordinates the workers' tasks and takes care of logistics and equipment management, and Kriscia and her mother work in administration, and are in charge of quality control and coffee processing at home. They carry out this work with great enthusiasm and constantly learning, recognizing that there are still things to be learned from the industry.

Finca Las Duanas has had the assistance of technical experts in planning, choosing coffee varietals, planting, picking, washing, drying and packaging processes, because their goal is to maintain a great responsibility towards the quality of their coffees. Making their way in the industry, they have broken schemes that inspire other coffee growers to practice responsible practices with the environment and to bet on quality.

Since its first production, Finca Las Duanas has obtained awards for the quality of its coffee in the Mesa de Café Trifinio competition held in Copan Ruinas, Honduras (2018, first place), and in El Salvador (2019, first place). Their coffee has also been featured in the National Barista and Methods Championship in El Salvador (2020). This and more motivates them to continue innovating and improving.

Finca Las Duanas, despite being a small farm, is a place with big dreams. The family's long-term plans are to open a café-restaurant to sell their own coffees and educate consumers to appreciate the high quality of Salvadoran coffee; training to be able to export their product, and support the coffee growers in the area with their coffee production in order to obtain better profitability.