Finca Oriflama is situated high in the mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean in western Guatemala. It produces superb strictly hard bean coffee, a crop which thrives in our warm sunny mornings and cool, cloudy afternoons.

This ecologically aware, modern coffee "finca" has belonged to the Hannstein family for almost eighty years. We have a strong commitment to continue to preserve, sustain, and nourish the soil so that it can continue to preserve, sustain, and nourish all that depends on its good health. This commitment is to the people who work on Oriflama; to our native birds as well as those that visit us semi-annually, to the abundant wildlife that share our unique living space and to the purity of its water, essential to us all.

Finca Oriflama sustains many people: Most of those working on the finca now are children and grandchildren of men and women who worked for our father and grandfather. They are paid at, or above, the national minimum wage, receive health and retirement benefits through Social Security and all other legal benefits. We support a private-initiative clinic staffed by a physician and dentist, providing the people with additional health care and low-priced generic medicines. During the harvest season the workers are given a daily dietary supplement of Incaparina, a hot, high protein beverage. Oriflama's children attend the local primary schools. They may, however, help their families during vacations. The farm assists those young people who want to continue their schooling beyond the mandatory 6^th grade and provides job training to those who demonstrate particular talents. Women, often the financial mainstays of their families, earn a wage equal to that of the men. This has made our finca a popular work place with the women of the area.

Finca Oriflama sustains both flora and fauna: Migratory and local birds are sustained by the 50,000 shade trees of more than twenty-five native varieties that, along with 7,000 macadamia trees, protect its 900,000 coffee trees. That equals 2,500 trees per acre, which fix more than 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day. Myriad toads and frogs accompany the owls and mourning doves in evening serenades. One hundred thriving beehives demonstrate the health of our insect life. Finca Oriflama is a wildlife refuge in which deer, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, porcupine, gophers, and opossum live with our dogs and four horses. Signs are posted throughout the finca to remind people to respect and protect our wildlife. Slingshots and guns are strictly prohibited.

Finca Oriflama sustains water quality: Through its industrial workshop, Finca Oriflama has become the leader in water conservation by developing a coffee processing method that reduces the amount of fresh water used by 94%, thus eliminating the contamination of our waterways. Our Ecological Coffee Processing System, recognized during the SCAA meeting in Denver in 1998, has been adopted by other farms and NGOs providing assistance to small producers locally and internationally. The water used in the processing of our gourmet coffee is recycled and, along with composted coffee pulp, becomes an excellent fertilizer for nursery and field.

Finca Oriflama, to the extent possible, uses hand labor to fertilize plants; to prune; to remove fungi, vines, and weeds. Innovative measures to further reduce the use of chemicals are continually being introduced. The furnaces used to dry the coffee use coffee parchment to provide a natural, clean-burning fuel along with the prunings of the shade trees. We have planted living plant barriers to reduce soil erosion throughout the cultivated area and the shade trees provide mulch and additional soil protection. Scientific soil and leaf analyses are used regularly to identify nutrients and trace elements lacking in the soil. To the extent possible, natural products are used to address these deficiencies.

Finca Oriflama is a place we are proud to represent. The quality of its products (coffee, honey, and ecological processing machinery) demonstrate our commitment to sustain the land and those whose lives depend on it. For more information and details about our products, please use our e-mail address: oriflama@guate.net or contact us by fax at 502 365 7557 or 502 762 0241.

* Oriflama means flame of gold in Latin. It was the standard of the abbey of Saint Denis, carried into battle by the early kings of France. The term has come to mean a standard, or rallying point.