chon & maria's organic farm tour

To get a flavour of how the indigenous people farm their land this is a really interesting visit. Chon will take you around his plantation and show you coffee plants, mandarins, bananas, pineapples, avocados and many more trees, all hiding under the shade of the forest. Maria will show you her orchid collection and will then feed you a wonderful, simple, traditional lunch.

What a delightful visit. Fascinating look at an organic farm in Santa Fe, panama. Funny and very kind the owners were a real treat. I spoke no Spanish they no English but we surely did connect! The orchid sanctuary was fascinating. The rest of the farm was too. It seemed they had a little of everything growing but the coffee process was the most interesting of all. Then when we had lunch it was a real treat.

We spent a pleasant afternoon on this small organic farm about three kms outside of Santa Fe. Together around the kitchen table we shared lunch and views with Maria, Chon, their granddaughter and another couple who had toured in the morning. Maria then showed us her orchid garden with its award winning flowers and explained how they had come to live on this property. Chon then showed us his coffee plants and processing tools and took us on a short hike up to various hillside gardens and pens he maintains. This is not a sophisticated large scale green machine type operation. It is a farm that not so long ago provided basic subsistence and a home for this family. It now provides a little more by virtue of improved roads, cell phones, a good local market and tourism. Some of Chon & Marias adult children live far away in Panama (city) and when visiting tell them how much they would like to return to this simpler, healthier life style close to family. It is not hard to understand why.Tours must be booked in advance. Check with your BB or Inn manager to see if they can get in touch with Chan and Maria by cell phone and if they have space. They will provide the tour to families. I'd suggest it might get crowded if more than 4 adults were touring at one time. To get to the location head east past the new court house and the Coffee Mountain Inn towards the Puente Bulaba. Once you cross the bridge take the road fork to your right. About 500 meters down this road there will be a small dirt road to your right marked by a sign that has Maria & Chon and an arrow on the bottom. Cross the car bridge and 50 meters on you will come to a suspension foot bridge. Cross that and then turn right and walk along a dirt road for about 750 meters. The property is at the top of a long hill on the right side and is marked.Note:* Maria and Chon speak Spanish and have little understanding of other languages. They do however communicate well and we did understand what they were talking about ... though we speak only English* This tour will involve a moderate degree of climbing on groomed, though sometimes muddy paths and roads. You cannot drive to this location.* The meals are cooked on a modern gas stove and the kitchen does have clean fresh water and refrigeration. The meal was fresh & tasty, but was local fare. Do not expect a menu. I do not eat red meat and it was on offer. I still had lots to eat.* Coffee is provided and you may want to buy some of Chon's crop. It will be the same price as in the store, if not more. The added value may be worth the story you can tell while serving it.

María y Chon son una pareja panameña muy amable que han decidido de abrir al turismo su propia finca, cultivada respectando totalmente la naturaleza y el medio ambiente circunstante, sin uso de químicos.Muy interesante visitar el pequeño jardín lleno de variedades de orquídeas y otras flores gestionado por María y la finca cultivada por Chon, donde se encuentran matas de vegetales, frutas, café y una cría de pollos. Chon procesa el café de manera totalmente casera, por lo tanto descubrirán algo realmente raro y fascinante.