Back in 2012, our founders purchased a 50 acre tract of virgin Rainforest, bordering on the Pine Ridge Reserve. This was done to create a buffer zone between the local Co-op famers and the Pine Ridge Reserve, and to preserve this untouched area as well as to create an area for future Ecotourism. Abundant wildlife and Jaguars freely roam this preserve. Unfortunately, it was not long before our 50 acre Virgin Rainforest preserve was scarred when loggers trespassed and cut down dozens of trees, clear cutting a large area. The men claimed to not know the boundaries and talked of planting Cocoa. That was the story they told after being confronted, but selling the timber is clearly their motivation. We have been able to stop the lumber poaching for the moment, but there is a considerable black market for the hardwood trees and in Central America, it takes everything one can do sometimes, to simply survive. That’s not an excuse; it’s just a fact for so many.