Waste Not Want Not:
The Selva Negra Mantra
Nothing goes to waste at Selva Negra. The animal and human waste generated on the property is used to fertilize plants and produces methane gas for cooking. The hulls of the coffee beans grown here provide food for special worms that produce nutrient-rich compost used on the farm. Even the plastic bottles that once held soda for the on-site restaurant are used to hold natural pesticides aimed at killing crop-ruining creatures. Everything serves a purpose on this 1,500–acre coffee plantation, farm and tourist attraction in the rain-forested hills of Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
The Selva Negra property is roughly divided into thirds with one-third comprised of the coffee estate, one-third the forest, and the other third “everything else”, including cattle, the hotel and bungalows, the restaurant and the chapel.
The coffee produced at Selva Negra is the bread and butter of the business. Some 600,000 pounds of it are exported each year, primarily to the United States and Spain. Selva Negra is a self-described medium-sized coffee grower in Nicaragua. They are, however, owners of the largest organic farm in the country. 1.3 million coffee plants grow here. Like other coffee plantations in Latin America, Selva Negra grows shade-grown coffee. Shade-grown coffee is grown under the shade of canopies of trees as opposed to sun-grown coffee, which is grown without the shade of trees. Shade-grown coffee:
- provides a sanctuary for migratory and resident birds
- utilizes a process that better protects the plants from the elements
- helps maintain soil quality
- aids in natural pest control because the birds eat insects
- shade-grown coffee plants can produce crops of coffee beans for up to 60 years, as opposed to the 15- to 20-year crops that result from sun-grown coffee.
All shade trees within the Selva Negra coffee plantation are indigenous to the region. Many of these trees are centennial trees. Some have grown so high that they provide a very high gradient of shade; gradients are a form of measuring the shade provided. There is also the more manageable shade of the younger trees that are pruned during the off season. Selva Negra's shade falls between the rustic and the traditional polyculture described below. The shade that the trees provide is managed via pruning to ensure the optimal amount of shade for the coffee trees.
The gradient, or degree of shade, is categorized in the following way:
- Rustic: This is the least intense practice and is becoming increasingly rare. Coffee shrubs are planted in the existing forests with little alteration of native vegetation. The rustic gradient is also the least expensive shade-grown gradient and is typically used by small family-owned farms that produce a modest crop of coffee.
- Traditional Polyculture: This practice is more managed than rustic gradient coffee and involves deliberate integration of beneficial plants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, medicinal plants, etc. Traditional polyculture results in greater species diversity than commercial polyculture (below). This crop diversification helps farmers in years when coffee prices are depressed.
- Commercial Polyculture: Commercial polyculture is similar to traditional polyculture, but some shade is removed to make room for more coffee shrubs. Consequently, the coffee yields are higher. Some agrochemical inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, are usually needed when utilizing commercial polyculture.
- Reduced or Specialized Shade: This method uses a single, pruned canopy species to provide shade. Typically used are trees from the genera Inga, Erythrina, Gliricidia, or Grevillea. Coffee shrubs are planted more densely and the farm has a manicured look.
- Full-Sun or Unshaded Monoculture: This practice is completely devoid of the canopy. The unshaded, intensively-managed fields are highly productive if given the requisite agrochemical inputs. Farms such as these have one objective - producing coffee for market.
That Was Then
The cattle farm and forest that provides the trees for the shade-grown coffee at Selva Negra have been in existence since the 1800s. The history of coffee in Central American began in the mid-eighteenth century, when coffee was shipped to Guatemala by the Jesuit fathers from the Antilles. Commercial production of coffee in Guatemala and Costa Rica began in the early 1800s, while commercial production in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras started in the second half of that century. Local growers soon began growing coffee, as well as British, German and North American growers, all of whom were lured here by the country’s policies of donating lands to immigrants who would dedicate the land for coffee production.
Here’s a bit of Selva Negra’s history, as seen on their web site:
Selva Negra's history is in many ways the history of the coffee in Nicaragua altogether. In the 1880's the Nicaraguan government invited young German immigrants to come and settle in Nicaragua in order to promote coffee growing in the northern highlands. Many young immigrants accepted the offer, thus forming the main coffee plantations of the country, many of which bear the names of the immigrant's motherland. Selva Negra's coffee farm is called Hammonia, Latin for Hamburg, which was the hometown of Mr. Hans Bösche, German immigrant who first settled the land.
The Selva Negra Estate has been exporting quality old style arabica coffee, with the tradition of shaded coffee, since 1890.
This Is Now
Today, 60-year-old Mausi Hayn Kühl and her husband, Eddy Kühl, are proprietors of Selva Negra. Mausi’s great-grandfather came to Nicaragua in 1888 and married a woman whose father was in the coffee business since the 1870s. Both Mausi and Eddy are descendents of original German immigrant coffee farmers. Mausi was born in Germany and moved with her parents to Nicaragua when she was two years old. She and Eddy were married in 1967 and purchased Selva Negra in 1975. Between 1980 and 1990 she lived in the United States (U.S.) and had an export business with her brother-in-law. He moved back to Nicaragua and Mausi and Eddy did, as well. They decided to make the Selva Negra property totally organic in1990 and today they are still committed to ecological agriculture. The Kühl's house adjoins the coffee processing mill, or beneficio, so they can closely monitor the coffee production to ensure its quality.
Our tour begins with an explanation that the farm’s biggest resource is its water, the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, which begins on the property. During this year’s record rainy season, the water from the river caused flooding in the city of Matagalpa.
We see workers hand-picking the coffee beans and Mausi explains that while it is early in the season (mid-November), it is important that the workers retrieve the beans. There aren’t many; the quantity will increase in the weeks to come. The workers today will earn a portion of the salary they will earn when picking begins in earnest. If the beans aren’t picked now, they will fall to the ground and may be a host for insects that may damage the crop. Employees constantly receive training in a number of agricultural topics to ensure they will have better opportunities in life if they decide to leave the farm.
The rich, dank smell of the compost wafts through the air as Mausi drives by an area where plastic soda bottles are being stored. They began recycling the bottles about five years ago and there are currently more than 5,000 bottles.
“We started collecting them but like many things here, we didn’t know what to do with them,” she explains. She’s found a use, though. The bottles are now dispensers of natural pesticides that battle infestation of the broca. The broca, also known as the coffee berry borer, eats coffee beans throughout the stages of both its and its host plant’s development. Broca, or hypothenemus hampei, is a small black species of beetle from Africa and is believed to have come to Nicaragua in 1990. The female can produce two to three eggs a day, which she leaves within the coffee plants. The eggs hatch and feed on the bean, Mausi explains. Often when the bean is later picked, it is hollow. At Selva Negra, the infestation is monitored and corrective actions are taken before the broca devastates the crop. Usually about eight bottles of the pesticide are used per acre to control the broca; that number could increase to 100 bottles an acre if infestation is being battled.
We segue way past the composting bins and the gardens, which grow vegetables for the workers and restaurants as well as a number of other plants. Everything is designed with an eye toward making use of everything possible. They put back into the earth what they take out whenever possible.
As we drive, Mausi points along the roadside and explains that a crawling peanut plant which grows like a vine is used to control soil erosion throughout the property. When cut, the plant is also used to feed the farm animals. The farm also has a cut flower business, with lilies, gladiolas and bulb flowers available; they are also used as decorations for the many events held at Selva Negra each year. An orchid area is currently being created. Over 100 wild orchids may be found on the property, all blooming at different times. Some 80 species of orchids have been selected and classified to date. All weeds from the property are used for composting; all leftover food from the restaurant is used to feed the farm pigs.
“We believe in organic farming not because it will provide you more money but because we believe it is healthier for the worker and the consumer and better for the environment,” Mausi says in her characteristic matter-of-fact, non-sugar-coated manner.
The water collected in the many ponds throughout the property is used to run a hydraulic turbine that provides electricity to the farm. La Hammonia, the farm at Selva Negra had generated hydro-electricity several years before the city of Matagalpa did. Hans Bösche installed the first hydraulic turbine on the farm which was operational until 1998, when Hurricane Mitch hit the farm and destroyed the turbine and most of its piping. A new turbine was installed and because it is more modern, generates more power than its predecessor.
Training and educational activities related to sustainable farming and coffee growing are offered at the youth hostel on the property. Nearby, visitors can see the original farmhouse, circa 1890, also built by Hans Bösche.
We drive by the site of the museum of coffee equipment, created to preserve the rich history of this important industry in Nicaragua. Administrative offices are housed near the commissary where workers may buy their staples. Selva Negra employs 300 people, including full-time employees and contractors. There are 50 houses with 90 rooms for the employees. There are an additional 580 rooms for temporary workers. Many of the migrant farm workers are relatives of the full-time farm workers. Clothing-strewn clotheslines, children playing outside, and rows of houses make the housing area look like a suburban neighborhood. The human waste from this area is transported by an environmentally safe system and used to make methane gas used to cook.
Selva Negra prides itself not only on the quality of its coffee and its sustainable farming practices, but also on the quality of life it provides for its workers. Twenty-seven families have been working for two generations on the farm. Four families have worked the farm for three generations and three of the families working here are the fifth generation to do so. Eddy and Mausi spend 75 percent more on the food for the workers than other farms; Mausi points out that workers who eat well are healthier. Attending school at the private, on-site school is mandatory at least until the 6th grade. At this time, children may elect to work on the farm or continue their education. If they decide to continue their education, Selva Negra provides a scholarship. The school also houses evening educational programs for adults; this program is run by Selva Negra university students, demonstrating that even education can be re-used. Mausi is hoping Selva Negra will become a sustainable farming education center in the future.
Students from the College of Williams and Mary, the second-oldest college in the U.S., located in Virginia, came to Selva Negra and helped set up a library for the workers and trained people how to maintain and use it.
Other perks (pun intended) for workers include use of the main kitchen and dining area, all meals for workers and their children provided, a private health clinic staffed by a part-time doctor that makes house calls as well as a full-time nurse.
The farm at Selva Negra has goats, chickens, pigs, and cattle. The animal waste is treated with California worms, who turn the waste into compost used on the farm. One hundred percent of the pigs are utilized on the farm. The skin is used for fried pork skins and leather. The best of the meat is used in the on-site restaurant while the lower grade pork is used to feed workers. (The weak of heart may wish to skip the rest of this paragraph.) The innards are cooked and served as animal food. The blood is used to generate bacteria used in the production of compost; the process of making compost this way takes about three months as compared to the usual year required to make compost in more traditional ways. The pasteurized milk from the farm is used to make aged-type cheeses.
The farm at Selva Negra uses a process called intensive pasture ranching, which essentially means that a large quantity of cattle are placed in a small area and they come in once a month to a specific area to gorge themselves on the grass and leave lots of manure. The manure is mixed with water and used as fertilizer. The 12-volt electrical fencing used to contain the cattle is run by solar energy. By using this pasture system, Mausi explains, the farm was able to increase the number of cattle from 10 heads to 400. The female calves and meaty cattle are kept on the farm and used to reproduce and provide meat for the restaurant. The rest of the cattle are sold at auction, where more profit may be made for quality animals.
Vermicomposting is used quite a bit at Selva Negra. According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, “…"vermi" is the Latin word for worm, and worms like to feed on slowly decomposing organic materials (e.g., vegetable scraps). The "end" product, called castings, is full of beneficial microbes and nutrients, and makes a great plant fertilizer. So, vermicomposting is the practice of using worms to make compost simply by feeding them your food waste.
The reason vermicomposting is becoming popular is because worms are very efficient eating machines. They eat over half their body weight in organic matter per day!”
A type of worm called California red worms are used to transform the shell of the coffee beans to nutrient-rich compost that is later used on the farm. Mausi explains that they started with 50 worms that they purchased in Managua in 1993. They currently have 150 million worms. An employee proudly brings us a double-fisted sample of some worms earning their keep as well as the finished product.
Part coffee estate, part tourist destination, part rain forest, and part farm, Selva Negra is completely magical.
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