Edilma Piedrahita Huila FW

Edilma grew up on a coffee farm and purchased FInca El Carrizo with her husband. When her husband fell ill in 2020, it was her connection to working on her farm that helped her grieve for her husband.

Of her 6 sons, 3 live with her. One of her sons helps operate the farm. Edilma also employs 2 full time workers who have been with her since 2014 to help her with everything from pruning and fertilizing to harvesting. Edilma uses the extra profit she receives from selling her high quality lots to maintain these employees. Since they understand her standards, she feels retaining them is a good investment in the future of her farm and coffee quality.

The volcanic soil in Pitalito provides plenty of nutrients for Edilma’s farm. The high altitude of over 1,700 meters above sea level offers the warm days and cool nights that are ideal for growing sweet, dense cherry. In addition to coffee, Edilma also plants avocadoes, plantains, cassava and maize. All these plants function as both subsistence and cash crops.

Edilma selectively handpicks cherry and dry ferments it for 24 hours before pulping. After pulping the cherry on a small drum pulper, she washes parchment in clean water and lays it to dry in the sun on the flat roof of her home and farm warehouse for approximately 3 weeks. 

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.

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.