Don Daniel Obregon
Don Daniel is the foreman of the coffee plantation
What did you learn from the presentation? - I learned about the critical points of inspections, such as contaminated water, both of the coffee and sewer, and of the importance of not letting that water continue to the rivers so they will not contaminate further down the streams. We continue to better up our work in this matter. Every time we start a project, we find more challenges and like to do more things to protect the environment and improve the farm. Thanks to the presentation, I have a much better understanding of what they want and why the want it, like preserving the environment.
What is the most important thing Rainforest Alliance talked about? - Well, the protection to the ecosystem, the forest, and the animals.
How does this correlate with your work? - With the teaching of things we did not know, such as the risk of applying organic pesticides with no safety equipment. We thought that just because it was organic, there was no need for it, but based on the risk of anything that could happen, now we will use them no matter what. We also give talks to the workers about why this is important. On the meetings they explained the importance of their job and the safety regulations they are suppose to do and why.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your work? - The handling of people.
How will you be changing the things you do? - By protecting the creeks more, planting bushes that will protect the water streams so we do not let it evaporate, at least not on any part of this farm.
Don Goyo (Gregorio Cruz)
Don Goyo is the lead of plague and pest control management
What did you learn from the presentation? - The importance of placing signs so everybody can see the water creeks with names, the trees and learn about them. I have a better understanding of their rules, their no compliance and how they apply them, before I just thought that they were only being bossy, but now I see that it is useful and important.
What is the most important thing Rainforest Alliance talked about? - The protection to the ecosystem, the no contamination, and why not to use chemicals and the damage it causes not only on the land and the trees, birds and other wild life, but also on people.
How does this correlate with your work? - By complying with what they recommend.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your work? - The handling of organic produce as I learned how it reduces the pollution not only of the farm, but of the whole area around us by not using the chemicals.
How will you be changing the things you do? - Now I understand why it is important to make more and better type of organic fertilizer, and I will do my best to make more.
Berni Enrique
Berni is an assistant of Gregorio Cruz in the plague and pest control management
What did you learn from the presentation? - I learned to protect the environment, how to take care of it, the importance of picking up the garbage and place them on ecological garbage bins. I now have a better understanding of why we do some things and why Chico is always calling on us to do this or the other. I also learned the way they do the auditing. You see, we did the auditing of the farm, I walked with others who had much more knowledge than me, more education, and I could see why they were finding things that we overlooked, or that we did not consider important, it was very interesting to see how to audit a farm, now wherever I go, I try to see what could be wrong in that or the other area.
What is the most important thing Rainforest Alliance talked about? - The organic works, how they accept some chemicals and why. Even though here we don't use them, I understood how this would affect birds and the forest.
How does this correlate with your work? - By protecting the flora and fauna.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your work? - My work at the laboratory. I think that I am part of the most important thing in the whole farm, and that is to get the best results out of the organic pesticide and organic fertilizer, the more we produce, the better the farm will be.
How will you be changing the things you do? - Before there were very few signs, now we have them everywhere and the workers have learned to respect them, they are also proud of how we have the farm, now you can also see the ecological garbage bags, and I think they are very useful.
Jorge Cruz
Jorge takes care of the bio digesters that produce methane gas from the coffee by-products (please refer to the how to article)
What did you learn from the presentation? - The importance of the treatment of the water used for the coffee processing, to decontaminate it and the re-use of it in the farm. I now have a better understanding of how things work, I had no idea it was so complicated.
What is the most important thing Rainforest Alliance talked about? - The need for all of us to know about their regulations, their no compliance and their observations. I learned a lot of things I had no idea about, the importance for all the workers to be aware of why we do things.
How does this correlate with your work? - Well, I take care during the picking season of the coffee water, or honey water, so it was important for me to learn what they request.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your work? - The proper handling of the bio-digestor, the mixing of hydroxide on the coffee water, so it will not contaminate, the regulating the coffee water that comes out of the bio digesters and making sure it is used on the pastureland and it does not go to the creeks.
How will you be changing the things you do? - Well, I will not change anything, I think what we do at the farm with the coffee water is great.
