What We Built Together:
The Story of El Recreo Estate and OBIIS

By Hector and Miriam Morales

El Recreo Estate is located deep in the mountains of Jinotega, Nicaragua, approximately four
hours from the country’s capital. For more than 50 years, the farm has been owned and operated
by Miriam’s parents, Carlos and Leana Ferrey. Over the decades, El Recreo has grown into
more than a coffee farm — it has become home to dozens of resident families and a source of
seasonal employment for hundreds of workers. Alongside producing specialty coffee, our
mission has always been to invest in our people, our community, and the long-term
sustainability of our land.

In 2019, at the SCA Expo in Boston, Massachusetts, we met Bob and Michelle Fish. They were
looking for something special: a true Farm-Direct relationship built on transparency, shared
values, and meaningful connections. We were looking for partners who believed in the power of
direct trade and the impact it can have on farming communities.

From the moment we met, there was a natural connection. Bob and Michelle visited our farm
multiple times, walked our fields, met our workers, and experienced firsthand the values that
guide El Recreo Estate. They fell in love with our coffee, our community, and our commitment
to sustainable farming. In 2020, our farm-direct partnership with OBIIS officially began.

For us, it felt like a dream come true.

The partnership was built on a simple but powerful idea: as long as we continued caring for our
land and our people, and as long as OBIIS could maintain a close connection to the farm
through regular visits and engagement, we could create a relationship that benefited everyone
involved. And for many years, that is exactly what happened.

From L-R, Carlos and Leana Ferrey, Michelle and Bob Fish, and Miriam and Hector Morales in July of 2019.

The timing of this partnership was especially meaningful. In 2018, Nicaragua entered a period
of significant political and social unrest that deeply affected many families and businesses
throughout the country, including our own.

As the situation unfolded, Carlos and Leana’s sons, Carlos Jr. and Jorge, were forced to leave
Nicaragua. This left Carlos and Leana, already in their later years, carrying the responsibility of
operating the farm largely on their own during a time of tremendous uncertainty. Despite these
challenges, they remained committed to their workers, their community, and the future of El
Recreo Estate.

It was during this difficult period that our partnership with OBIIS developed. Their commitment
to a true farm-direct relationship provided stability, encouragement, and hope when it was
needed most.

A family standing in front of their newly built home on the farm in December, 2022.

The impact of this partnership extended far beyond coffee production. Through the fair and
stable prices paid for our coffee, we were able to:

From L-R, Leana, Jorge and Carlos Ferrey, Nathan Havey and Miriam Morales, in the newly refurbished kitchen at the farm in December, 2022

In 2022, Jorge was able to return and once again help manage the farm alongside his parents.
However, our family continued to face significant personal and political challenges. In 2023,
Jorge and his family were forced to leave Nicaragua, and Carlos and Leana were no longer
allowed to return to the country. These circumstances dramatically changed the way our family
could operate and oversee the farm.

For the first time in its history, El Recreo Estate was being managed without a member of the
Ferrey family physically living on the farm. Hector and Miriam, based in Boston,
Massachusetts, stepped in to help oversee operations from afar, working closely with our local
team to preserve the quality, values, and community programs that define El Recreo.

At the same time, Nicaragua experienced rising costs across nearly every aspect of agricultural
production, including labor, fuel, fertilizer, transportation, and food. As many workers left the
country in search of new opportunities, finding and retaining experienced coffee farm labor
became increasingly difficult.

Despite these challenges, we remained committed to our partnership and worked hard to
preserve everything that had made it successful. From 2020 through 2026, our relationship with
OBIIS was one of collaboration, trust, and shared purpose.

With a BIGGBY NATION group in October of 2025.

The answer is not that Farm-Direct relationships do not work. In fact, our experience proves the
opposite.

Farm-Direct partnerships can create meaningful and lasting benefits for coffee producers,
workers, communities, and buyers alike. We have seen firsthand how a relationship built on
trust and shared values can improve lives, strengthen communities, and create opportunities that
extend far beyond coffee.

In our case, circumstances beyond our control gradually changed the conditions that had made
our partnership possible. The realities of operating a family farm from afar, the absence of
family members on the ground, changes within our management structure, and the ongoing
challenges facing our region created obstacles.

Maintaining the level of family presence, oversight, and stability that had helped make our
Farm-Direct model so successful became increasingly difficult. Together, we recognized that the
circumstances supporting our partnership had changed, making it difficult to continue under the
same structure that had served us so well for many years.

Coffee growing at El Recreo in 2024.

While circumstances have changed, the heart of El Recreo Estate remains the same.

Our coffee is still grown on the same mountainsides. The families who call El Recreo home are
still here. The values that first brought OBIIS to our farm—quality, sustainability, transparency,
and community—continue to guide every decision we make.

Today, our family manages the farm from afar, but our commitment has never wavered. We
continue investing in our workers, improving our agricultural practices, and producing the
specialty coffee that brought us together in the first place.

If there is one thing we have learned through these years, it is that meaningful partnerships are
built on more than contracts or logistics. They are built on trust, shared values, and a belief that
coffee can create opportunities for entire communities.

The impact OBIIS has had on our farm cannot be measured only in pounds of coffee purchased.
It can be seen in the homes that were repaired, the children who received school supplies, the
families who received support, the healthcare that was provided, and the opportunities created
throughout our community. For that, we will always be grateful.

The challenges our family has faced may have changed how we operate, but they have not
changed who we are. The farm, the people, and the values that first brought us together remain.
El Recreo continues to produce exceptional coffee, support our community, and invest in the
future of the families who depend on this farm.

We remain hopeful that the relationships formed through this partnership will continue in some
capacity in the future. Whether through future collaborations, visits, purchases, or simply
friendship, the OBIIS family will always have a home at El Recreo Estate.

The story of El Recreo is still being written, and we look forward to whatever future chapters
may yet unfold.

We look back on this partnership with nothing but gratitude.

The impact OBIIS had on our farm, our workers, and our surrounding communities will
continue to be felt for years to come. We will always be thankful to Bob, Michelle, and the
entire OBIIS team for believing in our family, our coffee, and our vision.

What we built together was never just about coffee. It was about people. It was about
relationships. It was about proving that when producers and buyers work together with trust and
purpose, entire communities can benefit.

For that, we will always be grateful.

We wish Bob, Michelle, and the entire OBIIS team continued success and happiness in the
years ahead. We are grateful for the memories, the friendships, and everything we accomplished
together.

What we built together will always be part of El Recreo’s story.

— Hector & Miriam Morales
El Recreo Estate, Nicaragua

The Ferrey Family together on the farm in 2022.