About Finca San Martin

This is a new beginning. This is Karen Salaverria Riedel’s origin story. Standing on the shoulders of five generations of familial coffee producers, Karen is joining the ranks of family members that led farms before her. Tucked between the small towns of Ataco and Apaneca, nimtrees line the coffee fields of Finca San Martin that Karen will now oversee. As a young farmer, she looks forward to balancing tradition with modernity while honoring her family’s values: respect and loyalty.

“It’s quite simple. It comes down to respect in all forms - respecting the environment, all people, yourself, and of course, the coffee. I grew up with the belief that it is everyone’s responsibility to conserve the earth and to respect it. As farmers, as people who work and interact with the land day after day, we see it as an honor and privilege to care for our land, to protect it.” Karen likens the role of farmers to lungs; they help the land breathe and help it flourish in the best they know how. In return, the landkeepers are rewarded with the harvest of coffee beans and with this they are fortunate to share pieces of their land with the world.

Ms. Salaverria also grew up a witness to the demonstrated loyalty between her family and those that have worked on her family’s farms. Many of the employees that worked with Karen’s grandparents, who taught her how to dry coffee beans when she was a young girl, still work with her family today. “Our workers become our family and their families become our family. I feel honored that we have earned this kind of loyalty from those that work our farms and that we have empowered them to love their jobs and coffee the way my family does. This connection is so important to me and it's something I want to continue in San Martin.”

Karen and her family also believe in respect and loyalty to their community. At the moment, San Martin is going through a period of rejuvenation and during this time, Karen has opened the farm to the local community. Neighbors have planted corn which not only allows them to grow food for their families but also helps recuperate the farm’s soil in preparation for the next coffee harvest. Aside from being mutually beneficial, this has enabled Karen to hone a deeper sense of connection with those that live around the farm.

In taking on this leadership role at Finca San Martin, Ms. Salaverria is confident that she can look to the past and to tradition for guidance while finding her own leadership style. She looks forward to creating her own legacy of high quality coffee using sustainable processes that respect the environment and create opportunities for her employees and the community that surrounds her.