First Coffee Plantations

Latin America

Archaelogical Landscape of First Coffee Plantations,
Cuba

In the Sierra Maestra's foothills are the remains of the first coffee plantations from the 19th century.

Coffee production in the difficult terrain was an agricultural gamble but the persistence of the pioneers paid off and the archaelogical landscape of the first coffee plantations pays tribute to the determination of those pioneers.

The coffee was grown in the natural shade of the forest with citrus trees interspersed for shade and to provide food to the isolated workers.

The area has 171 coffee plantations in varying states of repair and sites include the owners home, slave accommodation and production buildings.

The archaelogical landscape of the first coffee plantations is included in UNESCO's world heritage site list.