Volcán de Agua

Finca Medina was founded in 1842. With 100 hectares, Finca Medina is located in the foothills of the Agua volcano on the outskirts of Antigua, Guatemala City.

The farm has a top-of-the-line water treatment plant, where the water from the wet part of the process is processed. The treatment plant has a primary stage with an anaerobic, facultative, and wastewater pond system, and it’s coated with a plastic membrane to avoid water filtration to the groundwater layer in the subsoil. The farm has set the goal to be a pioneer in water cleaning in coffee processes to reuse the water and hopes to accomplish the most exigent parameters in the BOD and QOD indexes.

The coffee pulp is used for the elaboration of organic compost. During this process, the farm uses 30% of the water used in the wet stage of the coffee process. The

sub-products are mixed and turned through a particular compost machine. The turning is made several times a week to guarantee the aeration and liberation of water and carbon dioxide.

The water that comes from the processing of the coffee is poured into the compost beds and helps to rehydrate the compost. It also adds bacteria and enzymes that benefit the decay process. To enrich the compost, the wooden sticks, leaves, and other natural products from the farm's activities, like wood chopping and tree trimming, are also added to the compost beds. Once the compost has reached the stage where it can be utilized as organic fertiliser, it is applied to the coffee trees.

The transformation and use of these sub-products ensure that the operation recycles and utilises the waste products in a friendly and healthy way for the environment, closing the whole cycle of coffee production.