Isla Mountain Central, Puerto Rico

2011 Puerto Rican Coffee Harvest Way Down

A follow up editorial to the Maricao Coffee Festival of 2011

I ran across an article dated Feb. 24, 2011 in the Caribbean Business Weekly regarding the overall decline of the Coffee Industry in Puerto Rico. In the article they quote the Puerto Rico Coffee Buyers & Growers Association, stating that this year’s harvest lost $25 million, all due to a lack of hands needed for the harvest. Of the estimated 150,000 bushels grown, only 80,000 bushels were ultimately collected. The industry cites the inability to lodge migrant workers during harvest time and have requested assistance from the PR Agriculture Department to help cover housing for next year.

This is particularly depressing news for Labor as unemployment here exceeds 16% and has been double digit for the last several years. This would have been a ‘shot in the arm’ for the Economy on the West end of the island. The best harvest in recent years was 178,000 bushels in 2006 and has declined ever since. The cost of labor and operations is slowly driving farmers out of biz.

“Small business (less than 12 employees) is all but dead in PR”

This is in spite of the fact that Puerto Ricans consumed 270,000 bushels of imported coffee last year. I did the math.. less than a quarter of the coffee consumed here is locally grown.

Puerto Rico’s Dept. of Labor will not allow the use of foreign labor even though efforts to enlist inmates with sentence reduction and changes in unemployment rules have not solved the problem. All of this reflects badly on the Puerto Rican government’s ability to respond to a time critical issue and act decisively. This is NOT a slam on the governor, but on the system itself. For the Economy to lose $25 million over a known issue is simply not acceptable.

Why Puerto Rican Coffee is NOT marketed to the world as an upscale boutique product is lost on me. Then the local coffee haciendas could actually thrive.

So Sez the Scurvy Dog, Arrg!

Info for part of this story was taken from an Associated Press report by Danica Coto dated Feb. 17, 2011

Maricao Coffee Festival, The Mountains of PR

Coffee, My Second Most Favorite Drink!

I found out about this local event 2 weeks after it ended last year. I had been looking forward to checking it out, ever since.

I was not disappointed!

The Coffee Festival runs for 3 days, but Sunday was the best day for weather. We took Hwy 52 through Ponce which turns into Hwy 2. This took us to Hwy 121, the exit at Sabana Grande. 121 snakes through town past the Plaza and makes a hard left turn, then a right, then a left that takes you back out of town to become Hwy 120. We missed the 2nd turn, drove through and got lost. As luck would have it, when we stopped to ask for directions, one guy spoke perfect English and explained how to get back on our way. The locals love to impress their friends with their ability to speak some English. He was very helpful.

I had set up the video camera before we left Hwy 2 so I could do a “From the Road” video of the trip up to Maricao, BUT the battery quit 15 minutes in, so I got nothing. [Read more…] about Maricao Coffee Festival, The Mountains of PR

Corozal Plantain Festival 2010

.. And a civilized cock fight too!

Ever since I discovered they still ran cock fights in Puerto Rico, I’ve been wanting to go see one. It’s legal here. In fact, its evidently the 10th largest industry on the island. It is regulated by Puerto Rico and there is an established set of rules participants must abide by. Betting at games is also legal. That’s not to say there or no private games, but I’ve not been invited to any yet. The ones staged in Corozal were like ‘prelims’ with trophies handed out to the top winners. A classic looking bird was on display with is lower breast and leg feathers removed. This is typical of most fighting cocks. The birds in this fight were devoid of the rear leg spurs. They had soft covers instead, issued by the authorities so as to minimize the birds hurting each other. The fights run for 3 minutes each. The 2 gray haired gentlemen in the foreground were doing the timing and keeping track of which bird was doing what damage.

The cock fights seemed to be the main attraction of the day.
We had come to check out the ‘plantain scene’. I had no clue there would be any cock fighting. [Read more…] about Corozal Plantain Festival 2010

TROPIC VENTURES, A True Borinquen Vibe

& Sustainable Rainforest Enrichment Project

I stumbled onto the Tropic Ventures Web site while trying to track down local sources for live Bamboo shoots. Bamboo is great for controlling surface water erosion, but grows like a weed (It is a grass, after all). Among other activities, Tropic Ventures offers a walking tour and a home cooked gourmet lunch for $20. That sounded like a deal so I wanted to check them out.

The group’s ‘mission objective’ as quoted from their Web site:

“The project’s mission is to demonstrate the economic use of rain forest land using methods that do not destroy the forest ecology.”

Their black and white brochure introduced
me to a new word-
Silviculture.

Per Wikipedia: “Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of the many landowners, societies and cultures.”

A Spanish idea. OK… I like that. I’m no tree-hugger, but I do support and expect the responsible management of renewable resources. Otherwise, they are not technically renewable if we use them up. Time for new management. [Read more…] about TROPIC VENTURES, A True Borinquen Vibe

49th Annual Artisan Fair of Barranquitas

The very best of hand made Puerto Rican art and craft

I had a big break in the weather and made it out to Barranquitas on a Sunday. It was a leisurely drive from Coamo, up into the mountains. From San Juan, take Hwy 52 south and get off at Caguas. From Caguas, take Hwy 156 west, all the way to Barranquitas. Highway 156 is your typical PR back road. Its safe to drive, but full of tight turns and blind corners. You may be able to do 45-50 mph in some places, but most of the way will be 30-35 mph. Hey! Take time to enjoy the view. It’s why you came to Puerto Rico, right?

Unfortunately, Barranquitas is not on my map (Note- Map has been fixed, WooHoo). It lays southeast of Orocovis, northwest of Cayey and almost dead center of the island.

Its a relatively small town by PR standards. The central Plaza is very nicely executed. Every plaza has a Catholic church.. this one was painted in bright oranges and yellows. The Plaza features a large, raised wrought iron gazebo with several small statues. There are also 4 fountains located at each corner of the Plaza. It felt very festive, even without all the day’s activities.

Basic History:

Barranquitas was founded in 1803.

Its heritage dates back to the time when Taino Indians retreated to the hills to escape Spanish slavery. The Taino Indians were driven to near extinction in only one generation. Many poor Spanish and European immigrants also “headed for the hills” to escape control of the Spanish landowners or raids from the sea by Carib Indians. [Read more…] about 49th Annual Artisan Fair of Barranquitas