The International Children's Rainforest Network will provide on-going support to the Reserve, even though the major land aquisition phase is over. Coffee comes from the roasted and ground-up beans of coffee plants. For almost two centuries, coffee plants were grown in the shade of native forest trees. When coffee is grown on a traditional shade plantation, coffee trees are planted beneath a forest canopy. These small farms also cultivate diverse crops under the forest canopy.
Some examples are fruit, avocados, cacao for chocolate, and trees for firewood.
This provides a diversified living for small family farmers, who grow most of the shade coffee. But shade-grown coffee farms also provide habitat for over 150 species of North American Songbirds and many other species of native birds, animals, and plants. Chemicals aren't necessary because this diverse natural environment provides the nutrients and natural pest controls for coffee trees. Twenty years ago, nearly all commercial coffee was grown under a canopy of shade trees. But debt-strapped nations seeking to boost exports have taken steps to modernize coffee growing.