Nelson Fabio Cordoba Huila Tabi FW

Nelson’s land abounds with verdant plants including lush ferns and crops like lulo, a Colombian fruit that is popular for making a lemonade-like drink.

Nelson selectively handpicks cherry and pulps it on his farm. Then, he ferments coffee in a tank or plastics bags for 20 to 30 hours. After washing parchment in clean water, he lays it to dry on his marquesinas, flat drying beds on the top of his house. He rakes parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 10 to 15 days for parchment to dry.

Led by producer Edilma Piedrahita, the 27 producers in Asoguacharos maintain high quality standards and produce excellent specialty coffees. Based in Huila, the group seeks out training opportunities provided by NGOs and the national learning service, SENA. As members of Asoguacharos, producers follow high standards and, in return, gain market access and garner higher prices for their coffees.

Each producer processed their own coffee on their farms and adapts their methods to best suit their specific conditions. This leads to unique variations from each producer. 

In the future, they plan to make their farms a center for ecotourism. They’ve attended trainings on how to set up tours and attract visitors.

Tabi is a cross between Typica, Bourbon and Timor that was created by CENICAFE. It was released in 2002 and combines coffee leaf rust resistance with the good cup quality of Bourbon and Typica. Similar to those two parents, Tabi is tall with long branches. However, Tabi has slightly larger fruits and seeds and can be grown at high altitudes, and in high density, with up to 3,000 trees per hectare. The name comes from the word “tabi,” meaning “good” in Guambiano, the dialect of a native Colombian tribe.

Pitalito lies in the southernmost part of Huila. Producers are focused almost exclusively on producing specialty coffee. While the majority of trees are either Castillo or Caturra, farmers in Pitalito also cultivate more ‘exotic’ varieties than any other region in Colombia.

The high altitude of 1,400 to 1,900 meters above sea level is made even more farmable by the amiable geography. Thanks to gentle, rolling hills, Pitalito is much easier to farm than the steep cliffs that are common in many other regions in Colombia. Most farms sit on a large plateau that looks over the Valley of Laboyos.

Farmers here are mainly smallholders. In fact, 80% of coffee farms are smaller than 3 hectares. On smaller farms, nearly all labor is done by the family. Very few farms hire farmhands. As a result, quality can be carefully controlled and families can focus more energy on intensive farming practices that result in high-quality coffee. Families take great pride in their coffee production.