James Ortega works on their micro-lot of 1ha with his wife looking after their Colombia and Caturra coffee plants which are about now 5 years old. They work organically which they are finding difficult but have managed to produce 10 bags of coffee this year of specialty quality.
They are part of the ASOPROA group who are part of the Cooperative Cosurca who have been working hard in the communities they work with around the Popayan region. The Cooperative has several programs with a real focus especially on empowering their members with education and training to help them prosper post-conflict. They have also extended their micro-lot program this year with the farmers to help incentivise them to produce quality lots.
They have provided training and cupping in the field to educate growers and have also been paying higher prices at the collection points (15% more) for coffee delivered below 11% moisture content. The coffee is picked – trying to collect ripe coffees only. The coffee is then pulped and fermented for 12 hours that night. The following day the coffee is washed and cleaned before being dried in a parabolic drier for 7-10 days.
