High up in the mountanous region of Copan in western Honduras, almost on the border with Guatemala, Finca La Unica spans 50 acres at 1400 meters above sea level, at the base of Mount Tennan. Formerly a cattle farm, it was purchased by Leticia Lopez Hutchins in 2016 and planted with the coffee varietal Parainema.

A fifth generation coffee farmer, Leticia is proud to be an example for women by owning her own land and being in a role typically reserved for men in Honduras.

Leticia's coffee is exported out of Honduras and imported into the US by her family at Finca Terrerito, making for a very direct supply chain.

The Parainema varietal is a dwarf hybrid coffee cultivar made by selectively breeding two members of the Sarchimor variety. It's well adjusted to medium altitudes and coffee leaf rust resistant, and was bred by the Honduran Coffee Institute, or IHCAFE (Instituto Hondureño del Café ) to hit three areas: disease resistance, high productivity, and high flavor quality.

Like her family's farm, Finca Terrerito, Finca La Unica is very careful about how they use the land to grow coffee, and are committed to sustainable land use and growing organically. They have many sustainable certifications, including Rainforest Alliance and Bird Friendly, which address land use and conservation, as well as Con Manos de Mujer.

The "Con Manos de Mujer" code is a standard that aims to create production systems based on gender equity, providing women with new opportunities to improve the quality of social, economic, and environmental conditions for everyone involved in the production chain. The code establishes standards for the social and productive aspects of different crops and products, with a commitment to implementing gender equity policies and practices. It recognizes the contributions and sacrifices of women in the production process.

Leticia also upgraded the infrastructure for the 50 pickers she employs during harvest season, adding sleeping quarters, bathrooms and kitchens with clean water.

You can see more pictures from the farm, as well as some videos, on Finca La Unica's Instagram page!