Mirna Lizeth is technically a second-generation coffee grower, as her father once owned a farm. But due to the price crisis in 2000, he was forced to sell his farm to pay his debts. In 2000, at the age of 11, Mirna migrated from the countryside to the city looking for better opportunities. She began working as a sales agent in a small cosmetics store in Tegucigalpa, while studying alongside. In 2007, she finished high school and graduated in cosmetology. In 2008 she returned to Marcala, where she set up a beauty salon. But in 2011, as a new mother, she was concerned about the effects of the toxic products on her baby, so she closed her business. It was some years later, in 2012, that she acquired this farm, with the help of a bank loan. Thanks to the income from the coffee production, she has managed to continue studying at university. Her three children study in a bilingual school.
Ripe cherries are picked and floated, then carefully dried on raised beds for 15 to 30 days, depending on weather conditions.
Mirna works on soil conservation with the use of different live barriers and makes good use of shade trees to improve the ecosystem surrounding the coffee. The farm ensures fair wages to its employees, which are on average 50% higher in comparison to other employers in the region.
