Dr. Frank Bendaña Radzevich

 

Background

Frank 'Don Paco' Bendaña was born in New York City in 1936 to a Nicaraguan father of the same name and a Lithuanian mother. He married Maria Teresa McEwan in 1957 after his graduation from El Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School and had 5 children together, two of which still work directly with El Quetzal; Paco, who runs and operates Beneficio San Miguel (dry mill) and Ana Patricia, who lives and works at El Quetzal. 

Don Paco continued his hard work until his passing in 2007. 

Innovations

As the first Ph.D. Agronomist in Nicaragua, Don Paco he began his work in developing "sun grown coffee" which over the course of his tenure at EQ tripled coffee yields and became the leading production method for decades. After returning to Nicaragua in the 1990's, El Quetzal's focus shifted more towards environmental concerns such as climate change, water treatment, hydroelectric power and ultimately the pursuit of the highest quality coffees possible. Through his family and extended family the methods and processes Frank Bendaña shared with the coffee growing community are endless. 

 

Highlights and media clippings:

Published Research:

  • Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5842707/
  • Bendaña FE, Galston AW, Kaur-Sawhney R, Penny PJ. Recovery of labeled ribonucleic acid following administration of labeled auxin to green pea stem sections. Plant Physiol. 1965 Nov;40(6):977-83. doi: 10.1104/pp.40.6.977. PMID: 5842707; PMCID: PMC550420.