This particular Dominican
coffee from the Barahona region is an
environmental success story. The Polo community,
located in the Barahona region, is well known for
its excellent coffee growing conditions, but has
suffered in their production of specialty grade
coffee. In 2002, several organizations and private
benefactors contracted with 143 families to make
drastic changes in their farming methods and
ethics. After 5 years, the Polo community has seen
increased forest coverage and diversified farming,
thanks to fruit trees planted to give shade to the
coffee plants. Soil productivity has improved as a
result of the use of community-manufactured
organic fertilizers. Erosion is now under control,
and biodiversity has been preserved due in large
part to the elimination of the use of toxic
chemicals to grow the coffee and to the over 5,000
trees of native species that have been planted.
The coffee is now certified organic and fair-trade, fetching a much higher price for the
farming families. The end result of all this hard
work is a wonderful cup of coffee! It's a true
hidden treasure we are proud to source
from these hard-working and determined people of
the Polo Community.
About this
certified coffee: Each bag has a certified paper trail leading back
to the Polo community farms, confirming that the
farmers received fair wages and the product is
grown organically.
