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CINCHONA BARK GUATEMALA - FINCA EL ZAPOTE
Credit: D. Leonowens
ABOUT US
Finca El Zapote / Calisaya, S.A. is one of Guatemala's leading exporters of Cinchona Bark; currently exporting Cinchona ledgeriana and Cinchona succirubra. We are one of the pioneers of Cinchona in the country, growing our quinine trees since the 1940's.
OUR FOUNDERS
LEIF LIND PETTERSEN
Leif Lind Pettersen (1899-1977), Norwegian born, bought Finca El Zapote in 1927. Prior to his management, the estate was a large coffee, cattle, and sugar cane producing plantation. Leif was involved as one of the pioneers in the U.S.A. initiative to plant Cinchona in Latin America during the 1930's-40's. He discovered the Z15 variety of Cinchona ledgeriana which was propagated in all Guatemalan Quinine plantations.
CARMEN PETTERSEN
Carmen Pettersen (1900-1993) was Leif's wife and also founder of modern day Finca El Zapote. She was a renowned Guatemalan watercolor artist, awarded with the country's highest condecoration, Orden del Quetzal, for preserving the indigenous dress in her paintings. She established a large 10 acre Botanical Garden in the heart of Finca El Zapote, where they built their new home in the 1960s. As of 2013, the gardens have been opened to the public for visits and events.
To learn more about Carmen Pettersen's art and life visit www.fundacioncarmenlpettersen.org
MARK & LUCRECIA
Descendant to Leif and Carmen, Mark and his wife Lucrecia are currently managing the estate. The property continues in the same family, with a commitment to quality and preservation of nature and the environment. Among their current achievements is establishing an ornamental plant nursery, maintaining and improving Botanical Gardens with organic management, and opening the gardens and farm to the general public.
Finca El Zapote is committed to improving living conditions of those around us. Among our contributions:
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Donating land for public school and communal areas for the community.
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Paying higher wages to field workers compared to the agricultural industry in the region.
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Providing water to the community that surrounds us (500 families)
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Organizing environmental education classes
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Providing 700 water filters at low cost to 8 villages near us, made possible through private donations.
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Improving infrastructure of communal building and public school, made possible through private donations
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Providing access to credit with no interest rate for workers
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Delivering food and donations during June 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption, in total more than 1,400 handouts in an organized fashion
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Meeting with community leaders to understand current needs
SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY
OUR PROCESS
GROWTH PROCESS
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Seedling growth
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Grafting method
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Transplant to field
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8-10 years of tree growth
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Tree harvest during dry season (Nov-April)
HARVEST / FINISHING
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Bark peeling
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Transporting bark to the drying fields and patios
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Grinding bark to smaller substrate
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Cleaning impurities
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Solar drying (7-9 days)
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Bagging finished product
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Transporting to container
PRODUCTS
CINCHONA LEDGERIANA BARK
We are Guatemala's leading producer of Cinchona ledgeriana bark, with a current capacity to export between 115,000kg-138,000kgs/year. Our QAA content ranges from 4.3%-5.7% with a 4yr average of 5.05%. Our QuidAA content averages 1.30%. Our plantations have been established since the 1940's.
CINCHONA SUCCIRUBRA BARK
Currently processing and exporting cinchona succirubra bark. We source this bark from small holders in the west of the country. We perform the drying and selection process in our own patios. Our QAA content has averaged 1.98% with a 1.74% Cinchonidine base content.
We are located in Guatemala, Central America. We have close access to shipping ports in Pacific (Puerto Quetzal) and Atlantic Oceans (Puerto Barrios) to be able to ship easily to North America, Europe and Asia.
REACH OUT
We are a longstanding, professional company looking for strategic partners and buyers of Cinchona bark for long term solutions worldwide. Contact us if you would like to receive further information.
