So where do we work in Colombia?

Over the past three years, we have continued to expand our relationships with associations across Colombia. The initial Red Associations was born from a meeting with producers in Pitalito, Huila, in May 2018. Facing the effects of climate change on the drying of their harvests, producers had to utilise third parties, selling their parchment in wet form, to capture a small, but vital return for their work.

Seeing this self-identified issue as a moment to greatly improve the returns for producers, as well as their knowledge of the wider specialty market, the project was born. Together through Red Associations, we are building the required infrastructure to re-enable drying by producers, while also including steps traditionally downstream of producers: sample analysis, roasting, QC, and separation of lots by value based on quality. Paired with a fixed price payment system, these steps when combined result in the wider spread knowledge, and an average income per household through coffee increasing by 2.5 times.

El Carmen, Huila, has grown steadily over the past two years, and is now furnished with a QC and cupping lab alongside the Association's drying facilities. This model, once seen to be successful was able to be replicated. We now work with associations in Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Caldas, and Huila.