Colombia – Ian & Elliott’s Excellent Adventure
Bogata at 6am is a bustling metropolis. Street vendors sell food to the swathes of commuters whilst bike repair stands line a buzzing cycle lane full of professionals making their way to work. Crossing the road at times feels like taking your life in your hands but in truth it adds to the adventure. As a city, Bogota is a strange mix of modern high rises and colourful murals that tower above traditional houses and churches nestled at street level; and to its east the city ends abruptly meeting a wall of green mountains. The cable car up to Monserrate gives you a vantage over the sprawling city, a city full of trendy coffee shops and university campuses alive with students heading to lectures giving an air of a country ready to innovate and push forward into a better future.
GACHETA
The DNA of Ethical Addictions has always been to support small coffee producers who have great coffee but limited access to market – it’s why we trade directly; it’s why we fly halfway around the globe to sit in a restaurant with its own trout farm several hours outside of Bogota. We are meeting with Victor and Lucio, two of the smallholder farmers in the village of Gacheta.
Ian was here last year visiting for the first time but even on our return a year later it is like meeting with old friends. It’s not long before the conversation turns to coffee and some of the challenges that they are facing. There are issues around labour with many of the young people leaving for the cities, Lucio’s son tells us he is hoping to pursue a career in computer science which is just a snapshot of the issue. There are also issues around climate change, all of the coffee farmers across Colombia are praying for rains that should have already arrived. Without the rain the coffee cherries won’t ripen. There are also some issues with the current crop of trees for these smallholder communities. The first is rust – a disease that damages the leaves and fruit of the coffee trees. The good news is that there are some coffee varietals resistant to rust. The second major problem is the age of some of the trees on the farm.
Walking around Lucio’s smallholding both of these problems are clear for us to see. There are telltale signs of rust on some of the trees, while others are struggling with the drought and others are showing their age with low yields of cherries on the branches. We see an occasional red cherry though most of them are green, longing for rainfall.
While we can do little about the lack of rain, it is clear that one of the ways EA can invest in farmers like Lucio and Victor in Gacheta is to invest in new trees and encourage collaboration amongst the community. By buying some new seedlings in rust resistant varietals this will help rejuvenate the small holdings and in the long run lead to better quality and better yields of coffee. It also gives them a safe way for them to experiment with some more exotic varietals.
MEDELLÍN
We have a few days before we are scheduled to travel to La Primavera to visit Francisco on his farm, so we get to take a short trip to Colombia’s second city, Medellín.
Colombia is still a new origin for us and as we spend more time on the farms we are also keen to explore the country to help improve relationships and understand Colombian culture and history more (also we both really wanted to go).
Medellín is a city with a history (not all of it good), but now is revived to be a creative city, full of potential and opportunity. Its public transport system, links the affluent suburbs with instagram-friendly malls and onto the winding narrow alleyways of the near-vertical neighbourhoods of the comunas.
Nowhere tells this story better than San Javier (Comuna 13). This Community is testament to the resilience and innovation of its residents. Once considered the most dangerous place on earth, these streets are now bustling with tourists. There are brightly coloured murals on almost every surface and surreal sculptures emerge from parapets of houses and bars. Small shops and restaurants run up and down the maze of streets, there is even a small coffee roastery tucked away. The main street is serviced by outdoor escalators that encourage tourists up to the higher levels. Youth groups perform breakdancing routines for groups of tourists as a means of making money away from the gangs. Taking the cable car over the rest of the community away from the tourists gives you a sense of the scale of challenge still facing the city, it is clear there is still more that needs to be done. But it is a city that is no longer fearful but rather hopeful.
LA PRIMAVERA
This La Primavera Finca (farm) is constantly looking for ways to improve their practice and respond to the various challenges of modern farming, international economics and climate change.
At the centre of this is Francisco. To call Francisco just a farmer is to understate what he does. In truth he is a botanist, biologist, ecologist, engineer, economist and entrepreneur! As we walk around the farm Francisco explains how he is using each of the lots. Some he has stumped (cutting the older trees back to the stumps to allow new growth), in others he has started to plant newer varietals such as Tabi, and inothers he is running agronomy experiments.
The soil at La Primavera is a challenge and drought is only making it more difficult. The farm was once used for cattle grazing which has caused problems with retaining nutrients. The dry ground is now cranking, making this retention even harder. Francisco is monitoring the soil for its nitrogen content as well as other various minerals that he is hoping various composting methods will help return some of the lost nutrients to the soil. He uses compost created at the farm (which he also uses for biogas); a series of fences made from sustainably harvested bamboo; as well as biochar which he hopes will help prevent the nutrients running off during heavy rains.
He has diversified as well. There is a bamboo guesthouse taking shape that will allow them to run experiences and retreats. And his brother us raising pigs.
Having brought the milling to the farm he is also able to ensure the quality through that process too. As well as being able to offer milling to other farmers, including the coffee that we will get from Gacheta.
This innovation isn’t at the expense of the environment though. La Primavera is a sanctuary for all kinds of wildlife – in fact it is certified bird friendly! The coffee is shade grown amongst indigenous trees. Huge Areas of the rainforest are preserved and a host of hummingbirds drink nectar from the array of flowers that grow everywhere.
It is a very, very special place, and a priveledge to have got to spend time there.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Colombia is a nation of innovators, and Francisco is a great example of this. He is constantly striving to do better for coffee, people and the environment. He is bringing others with him. His connection and expertise make the relationship between EA and the Gacheta community work. Lending his knowledge to help improve practices not only on his own farm but also amongst other farmers too.
It is also alarming to see the impact climate change is having on these communities. Seeing first hand the impact of changing rainfall patterns and periods of drought that farmers are increasingly experiencing and the effect that has on coffee production as a result of their source of income is a stark reminder of what is at stake.
But all of this reminds us of why we chose to trade directly and the way that relationship, even only a couple of years in, can have big impact, like being able to invest back into the farmers in Gacheta.
We are leaving Colombia with a renewed excitement about the coffee itself, and the impact we can have. We will continue to build and invest in this partnership. And not just because it gives us a chance to visit and drink more coconut lemonade (though that is definitely a perk).
