Rinaldo's Coffee: Ecuador, Habitat Forest farm - Mario Andrade, Washed

Habitat Forest farm is very isolated from the urban regions of Ecuador. The farm is surrounded by waterfalls, rivers, and forests. A large proportion of the farm is made up of native trees and forests, creating a biodiverse environment of mixed flora and fauna. The farm is picturesque and often rented to tourists and for event usage. In the long term, they plan to build a hostel for travellers to come and enjoy the environment and natural way of life there.

Mario's grandfather used to grow coffee purely for his own consumption and to share with his workers at dinner time. However, when coffee production started to become popular in the region, he decided to sell small volumes to national roasters. When Mario's family saw that coffee was proving to be profitable, they started to invest more time and money into the coffee trees.

The business has since been transferred from generation to generation and now Mario Andres runs the organisation. Several years ago Mario began growing higher-end speciality coffee, which led to supply in Quito and now the farm exclusively produces only Arabica coffee.