Social Responsibility
at Hacienda Palo Santo
We care very much about our employees, and we provide support in different areas.
Homes are provided for workers from other regions of Ecuador, currently to 60 single workers and to 5 families. A communal kitchen provides 3 meals a day to over 100 employees.
We also provide health, life and accidents insurance to all of our workers.
A worker loan program has been established to help with unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or home repairs. Through this program, we aim to help in times of emergency.
Wireless services and Internet is also installed in the local community.
Sustainability
Our farm is Rainforest Alliance/Utz Certified. It was one of the first plantations to be certified in Ecuador.
No red label pesticides or herbicides are used on the farm. We use our organic waste to produce compost that we use as fertilizer.
The farm has seen a 30% water reduction due to the creation of water reservoirs to catch all the water run-offs. Our 8 hectare reservoirs catch water where it is recycled and used for the irrigation of the farm.
As the world has changed over time and become more conservation aware, Palo Santo has embraced biodiversity as a way of life. There are iguanas, sloth, insects, birds, deer, monkeys and squirrels among other wild animals inhabiting the farm. We have implemented procedures, such as no fishing and no hunting, that allow the farm workers and wildlife to live in harmony.
