Meet Our Farmers

14 | Bellavista

Albeiro Solarte

Albeiro and his nine siblings grew up at Finca Bellavista. He and four of his brothers still live at the farm today, caring for both the coffee and their aging parents. They have fond childhood memories and learned everything they know about coffee from their now 96 year old father. While Albeiro takes pride in growing excellent coffee, providing his parent’s with a comfortable lifestyle in their golden years is the ultimate reward for his hard work. He sees potential in our business model and hopes that this move towards sustainability will allow him to grow old at Finca Bellavista as well.

15 | Buenavista

Eidar Castillo

Growing up in the countryside, William worked at several coffee plantations. With the support of his father, he started planting his own coffee 15 years ago. Now he calls Las Gradas home along with his wife and two daughters. William has plenty of ambition and there are many upgrades he would like to make to his farm, starting with the addition of a wet mill. He currently uses one at a neighboring farm. The ability to earn a better price for his coffee has him hopeful that he can not only provide for his family but improve his farm as well.

16 | El Plan

Patricia Benitez

Coffee has always been a way of life for Patricia. She and her siblings grew up on her father's farm, helping with the day to day activities. After he passed away, Patricia inherited a portion of his farm where she started El Plan twelve years ago. Coming full circle, she now provides for her family with coffee production. However, current coffee prices make production at a profit difficult. Patricia sees an opportunity in our business model to make coffee production sustainable. With deep roots in the industry, she wants to see farmers succeed.

17 | La Esmeralda

Arquímedes España

At just two and a half hectares, La Esmeralda is a small farm. Nevertheless, it is home to Arquímedes, his wife, Tatiana, and their young daughter. They are proud of the effort invested to transform this property into both their business and home. Arquímedes is aware that every detail matters when producing coffee and is continuously planning upgrades for La Esmeralda, starting with the addition of more drying beds. His goals are to increase efficiency and further improve quality. He participated in the Cup of Excellence competition in the past and hopes to return again.

18 | Pedregal

Menardo Diaz

Menardo lives with his wife Luceida at Pedregal. Originally working in the remote region of El Putumayo, Colombia, Menardo raised cattle and pigs. Through hard work, smart budgeting, and a credit from Banco Agrario he was able to purchase El Pedregal. The one hectare farm benefits from its location and high altitude, allowing Menardo to produce the caturra variety coffee without the high risk of leaf rust. As he becomes more experienced with coffee, Menardo is now very interested in learning how to improve processing practices in order to continually improve quality. Currently, he would like to improve his wet mill and his drying facilities. We are very excited to be working with him and hope to help him achieve all his goals.

19 | La Cuchilla

Servio Bolaños

Servio has worked with coffee for 37 years. While he is quick to declare his love for the lifestyle, he does admit there have been some tough times when the low coffee prices have not covered production costs. Pricing uncertainty prevents him from investing in a new storage building and improving his wet mill. While eager to undertake these projects, he must first be sure he can provide for his family. Nevertheless, he remains passionate about the industry and hopes his children will continue in his footsteps.

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