Las Guacas Castillo Anaerobic Natural

Fabio Arroyo has a long family heritage of coffee production in Santa Maria in Northern Huila. His family has lived in the region for generations and today, Fabio continues the tradition of cultivating high-quality coffee and is transmitting a passion for coffee to his young daughter.

Fabio inherited the initial plot of Finca Las Guacas from his father and then purchased additional plots to extend his farm. His brothers are also coffee growers and they cultivate coffee on neighboring farms.

His experience growing up in a family that produced coffee led Fabio to love coffee production and spurred his interest in the entire coffee supply chain. Today, Fabio is experimenting with new processing methods that can improve coffee quality and better protect the environment. His goal is that himself and other farmers in his community can improve coffee quality and increase their income from coffee production through these new fermentation methods.

The name “Las Guacas” comes from Fabio’s father. His father named the farm after the indigenous tombs that are located in their area. The tombs had gold buried alongside the bodies and are commonly called “guacas” in Colombia.

Fabio selectively handpicks, floats and visually inspects his cherry. He places cherry in GrainPro bags and seals them to create an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment.  Cherry ferments on the farm for 180 hours at 1,750 meters above sea level before being transported to Campo Alegre city at 550 meters above sea level. Cherry remains in the bags and ferments for an additional 80 hours. Following fermentation, cherry is laid on patios to sundry for 3 days. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. After 3 days, cherry is rested for 18 hours and then placed in mechanical dryers at 45 degrees Celsius to finish drying.

Cuatro Vientos is a family-owned exporter based in Colombia. Founded in 2018 by Julian & Yonatan Gonzalez and based in Huila, the company is named after the Gonzalez’s first farmnwhere the brothers spent much of their childhood.  Yonatan and Julian learned much of what they know from their father, Armando Gonzalez who was a “pergaminero,” someone who bought and sold parchment coffee. Sucafina has worked with Cuatro Vientos since 2021. 

Through their partnership with Sucafina, Cuatro Vientos is able to more effectively reach new markets. This, in turn, means they can work with more farmers and develop better programs to support their farmers.

Cuatro Vientos has 3 purchasing points in Huila: Acevedo, Santa Maria and Algeciras. These points are more than just places where they buy coffee, though. They are service hubs where farmers can access services to maintain quality and reach new markets. For Cuatro Vientos, farmers are long term partners who are focused on quality.

With these three locations, Cuatro Vientos is able to source fresh coffee year-round. In their unique position across Huila, they can tap into two alternative harvest seasons within Huila. The northern Huila harvest occurs in the first half of the year and the southern Huilaharvest happens during the second half of the year, providing high-quality coffees year round.

They also own 2 warehouses that are strategically placed in Acevedo (in Southern Huila) and Campo Alegre (in Northern Huila). The warehouses provide an array of important services to farmers. Farmers can dry their coffee, store dried parchment in silos and learn to grade and evaluate coffees in the cupping labs. 

Cuatros Vientos adds value by offering logistics and milling support to the over 30 farms that they work with. These farmers are all specialty oriented and Cuatro Vientos’ focus on specialty processing helps farmers ensure that their coffees are handled properly.

One of Cuatro Vientos’ biggest impacts is their credit line offerings. Growers need financing at the beginning of the harvest and it is difficult for them to access financing through traditional banks due to a lack of financial documentation. By providing financing through their partner, Bancolombia, Cuatro Vientos is supporting long term farmer profitability. They also provide financial education workshops that increase farmers’ financial literacy and promotes overall success.  

They also provide marketing services for farmers, helping them manage samples and tell their stories. Importantly, they act as an integral part of a two-way conversation between producers and roasters about what they’re looking for, what they can do and how they can best achieve the results they’re looking for.