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I'm considering buying a finca in Colombia, DR, or Costa Rica to grow coffee, so those countries top my list.
I have family in Colombia that own coffee farms in the Armenia area, so if you want to chat about it feel free to direct message me.
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Originally Posted by UrbanLuis
There is more to Latin America than just beaches.
Amen to that.
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Originally Posted by aab7855
Good food in Colombia...? Hmmm....Don´t hold your breath!
I disagree. For good food, don't bother going to "well-known places" you find on the internet. Just go to any place that serves what's called "almuerzo ejecutivo" and you'll find decent food. There's a wide variety of soups in Colombia, so you should cycle through those. And another tip is that you'll find much better food in the small towns (not the cities) - better quality ingredients, better tasting.
I've really no interest in visiting any other countries down there except it would be interesting to see Havana, and in Argentina I would like to see both Buenos Aires to see how it compares to European cities and the countryside to see what the mountains are like and whether things are still in relatively pristine condition.
80skeys - thanks! My questions are somewhat general so I hope you'll answer here.
How many acres does one need to have a profitable coffee farm? I know that profitability depends on many variables, but is there a lower limit of the scale needed to be successful. Note that I wouldn't care too much about being profitable, but I don't want a money pit.
Do your relatives sell through a 'syndicate' or growers' organization?
Is there any advantage for growing organic coffee?
About how many employees does one need for a finca as described above?
Do your relatives have any snake stories? I know that here in Alabama USA, snakes are fairly common on farms, including venomous snakes.
Rank the ones you'd most want to go: Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico.
Been to all four:
Cuba - Went as a child only, would like to go back as an adult. We have some Cuban long time friends
Dominican Republic - Spent three summers there and enjoyed it.
Colombia - Had some brief business trips 20+ years ago. Would like to go back.
Puerto Rico - Visited four times on the way to DR and to visit some friends. Years ago, but still have some friends there.
How many acres does one need to have a profitable coffee farm?
90. That's the smallest you'd want to go. (And you'd have a hard time finding anything smaller to buy, anyway).
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I know that profitability depends on many variables, but is there a lower limit of the scale needed to be successful.
You'd have to be especially disorganized or negligent for it NOT to be profitable. You'll make profit. It's not going to be life-changing amounts of profit, but you won't lose money.
The way it works in Colombia is that the farm you own has a house on it. The house is where the employee and his family lives. For a smaller farm, you only need one guy, and he lives there with his wife and kids. He takes care of the farm. When there's a harvest, you'll have to arrange for people from the town to come up on a jeep and carry away the coffee and plantains. You'll have to arrange for this to be sold to someone in town.
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Do your relatives sell through a 'syndicate' or growers' organization?
No, they know local buyers and usually these are the people they sell to.
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Is there any advantage for growing organic coffee?
The only advantage is to make it easier to sell to uptight yuppies in the U.S. market.
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Do your relatives have any snake stories? I know that here in Alabama USA, snakes are fairly common on farms, including venomous snakes.
I've never seen a snake on coffee farms, and I haven't heard about any problems with snakes there. So if there are, it isn't a problem.
Cuba would rank first, because of it's authentic culture and it's a forbidden fruit for Americans.
Colombia would be next, also a unique culture and intriguing cities.
Costa Rica and DR appeal less, unless I was looking for a beach vacation. I suppose Costa Rica would be third because it is safer than the DR.
I've been to Cuba and Panama already and really enjoyed my time there.
I'm interested in traveling to the other countries as well.
In order, I'd say:
1. Colombia
2. Dominican Republic
3. Costa Rica
4. Puerto Rico
And lol at one of the posters being scared to go to Cuba cause of crime. Cuba, if anything, is much safer than the USA even thought those problems obviously exist in the slum areas.
Panama is also pretty safe across the board if you avoid Colon which most locals will advise you to avoid and there isn't much to do over there to begin with anyway.
I've seen online what I would call farmettes of around five acres (just a couple of hectares), but that seems more like a garden than a business.
Yeah, snakes aren't much of a problem here (Alabama) either. However, there was a guy bitten by a venomous coral snake earlier this year. He tried to kiss it, thinking it was a milk snake. I can usually find snakes (in the country) if I look for them.
Just for fun, I looked up QuindÃo and saw that it was about the same size as my county (Madison County Alabama) but with a slightly larger population.
80skeys = "...the farm you own has a house on it. The house is where the employee and his family lives."
Um, where would I live?
What is the infrastructure like around Armenia (roads, water, sewage, electricity)?
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