As we enter 2026, we’re beginning our ninth year working with the Los Chelazos coffee-growing community in La Palma, Chalatenango, El Salvador.

This partnership was born from a desire to build a more meaningful and lasting relationship with smallholder producers. Instead of sourcing coffee from well-known estates with established access to the specialty market, we chose to work with a collective of small farmers in a lesser-known region. Our goal was simple: as demand for our house blend, The Docks, grew, the positive impact of our purchases could grow alongside it.

We received our first lot from Los Chelazos in the summer of 2017. The coffee quickly became an important component of our blend, and with that success came the opportunity to invest more intentionally in the community behind it.

Understanding Where Support Was Needed

To understand where we could have the greatest impact, we worked closely with our export partner, Caravela Coffee, who first introduced us to the Los Chelazos producer group.

Through Caravela’s PECA program, their team of agronomists works directly with producers to improve coffee quality, yield and long-term sustainability. Their detailed knowledge of each farm allowed us to identify where targeted support could make the most difference.

One producer in particular stood out: María Zoila Piñeda, owner of Finca Margarita, a two-hectare farm in Chalatenango.

At the time, María relied on a small concrete patio to dry her coffee. This limited both the amount of coffee she could process and the level of control she had over the drying process, which ultimately affects quality and income. The recommendation from the PECA team was to invest in raised drying beds, which would significantly improve her post-harvest processing capacity.

The Beginning of the El Salvador Project

From this research, our first co-funded impact initiative - the El Salvador Project - was created.

The aim was to support María in building a more viable and resilient coffee business. Over the next five years, several infrastructure upgrades were implemented at Finca Margarita, including raised drying beds, a solar dryer and a micro wet mill for processing.

These improvements strengthened the foundations of the farm. They increased María’s ability to carefully process her coffee, leading to improvements in both quality and yield while also increasing the income she could earn from her crop.

However, the journey was not without its challenges.

When Climate Challenges Hit

Like many coffee-producing regions, Chalatenango has experienced increasing climate pressures in recent years. Excessive rainfall, hurricane-force winds and outbreaks of crop disease have all had a significant impact on coffee production.

Finca Margarita was not immune. Severe weather caused damage to infrastructure and affected yields during the 2023–24 harvests, temporarily reversing some of the progress that had been made.

When we heard about these challenges, we felt it was important to return to El Salvador. The visit allowed us to reconnect with María, spend time with the PECA team and deepen our relationship with both the Los Chelazos producers and Caravela’s team on the ground.

A Visit That Reinforced the Purpose

When we arrived at Finca Margarita, we were immediately struck by María’s resilience and positivity.

Despite the setbacks she had faced, María remained committed to improving her farm and producing high-quality coffee. Inspired by the initial results of the infrastructure improvements, she had already begun reinvesting in her operation.

She rebuilt and expanded drying infrastructure and planted native trees around the farm to act as windbreaks, helping to reduce the impact of future storms. She also built new cooking and sanitary facilities for seasonal workers, addressing another growing challenge in the region: labour shortages.

By improving working conditions, the farm becomes a more attractive place for pickers, helping ensure a reliable workforce committed to harvesting only ripe coffee cherries.

Encouragingly, the signs of recovery were already visible. Production volumes had increased by around 50 percent, and newly renovated trees were producing healthy Pacamara cherries - suggesting a strong harvest ahead.

Measuring the Impact

When we first invested in Finca Margarita, we wanted to test whether targeted infrastructure improvements could address one of the biggest challenges facing the coffee industry: encouraging producers to remain in coffee farming.

After revisiting María and seeing the progress first-hand, we believe the project has achieved exactly that.

Quality and yield have returned to levels previously seen in 2022, before climate-related challenges. The improvements have also contributed to better working conditions and a more stable livelihood for María and those employed on the farm.

For María’s most recent Pacamara harvest, we paid an average price of $3.18 per pound, above the minimum within Caravela’s Prosperity Price Model. This ensures producers can cover both their cost of production and cost of living - a critical step in creating a sustainable future for coffee farming.

Perhaps the most encouraging development is that María is now more motivated than ever to continue investing in her farm and improving the quality of her coffee.

Her son Oscar has also joined the operation and is now a regular presence on the farm, marking an important step toward generational renewal and helping secure the long-term future of coffee production at Finca Margarita.

Looking Ahead

The success of the El Salvador Project has encouraged us to deepen our engagement with the wider Los Chelazos community.

This year, alongside María’s Pacamara, we are also showcasing another microlot from the group. Eric Roberto Landaverde’s natural Gesha will be the first release in our Chelazos Producer Series, highlighting individual producers and strengthening our connection with the collective.

We are also exploring the development of a North Star Impact Fund, which would allow us to invest more intentionally in projects across our supply chains.

During our recent visit, it became clear that every farm faces unique challenges depending on factors such as soil health, altitude, shade levels and access to water. Coffee production is never a one-size-fits-all system, and meaningful support must reflect those differences.

The goal of the fund would be to support initiatives that strengthen infrastructure, improve environmental sustainability and create more resilient livelihoods for coffee producers.

More Than Infrastructure

While the El Salvador Project began with practical improvements such as drying beds and processing equipment, its real success lies in something deeper.

It lies in the shift in mindset that comes from seeing what is possible with the right support and investment.

After the climate challenges of 2023–24, it would have been easy for María to walk away. Instead, she continued to reinvest in her farm, trusting the guidance of Caravela’s agronomists and remaining determined to produce exceptional coffee.

That resilience is what truly inspires us.

And it is exactly the kind of story we hope to support many more times in the future.

Watch this space for updates on the next chapter of the El Salvador Project.