Is it possible to produce award winning, quality cigars and help to improve the environment? Plasencia Cigars believes so. As one of the world’s largest and high profile tobacco growers and cigar manufacturers, the Plasencia’s continued focus on environmental sustainability methods for producing organic tobacco are helping to ensure a better and greener tomorrow, all while raising the bar on quality and flavor.
The Plasencia family first began producing organic-certified in 2000, when the company began using organic fertilizers called vermicompost, a fertilizer that is dissolved and distributed along with water in their irrigation system. This method, known as fertigation, has been proven to be a superior method than traditional fertilizing techniques. With these resolutions in place, the water usage has decreased by 50% while still increasing the production of tobacco for products such as Plasencia Cigars Reserva Original –the world’s only handmade organic cigar.
According to José Luis Plasencia, Vice President of Plasencia Cigars, “We have learned and believe that by protecting our people, our soils, and our water resources, we are improving the quality of the tobacco that we plant, and consequently the quality of our cigars. In recent years, we have added green crops to the soil to enrich its nutrients and have also considerably increased the production of the vermicompost to be applied to our soils.”
With fertigation, fertilizer is applied seven to eight times as opposed to traditional methods where it’s done 3 times. Plasencia’s process allows the soil to grow richer, producing a thicker and stronger-flavored organic leaf exclusive to Plasencia 1865 brands.
“By applying all of these different techniques of conservation and improvement of natural resources, the quality of our tobacco is enhanced in an extraordinary way and as a result, so is the quality of our cigars. It is truly amazing what the Earth can give you when you take good care of it. These sustainable processes create rich soils for future Plasencia generations, so that they can continue working in this beautiful industry and producing high-quality cigars for all to enjoy.”
Source: Cigar Journal
