Cultivating Grains of Peace for Colombia and the World
"Here in Nariño, we produce the best coffee in the world,"
proudly states José Herney López, who has been
growing coffee for over 45 years in the Department of Nariño
in southern Colombia.
He began working the coffee fields as a child. And today, he,
his wife, children and grandchildren are one of 35 families who are
members of the Coffee Growers Association of Nueva Esperanza or New
Hope located in the Municipality of La Florida.
This group is part of 1,960 coffee growing families taking part
in an IOM project, implemented in cooperation with Empresas de
Nariño, a well-known coffee exporting enterprise and partner
of Starbucks Coffee, with funding from the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) and the Dutch Embassy in
Colombia.
Before the project, the situation was very different, says
José Herney, "We knew some coffee selling companies, but we
had no training or support. Everyone told us that our land produces
one of the best coffees of the country, but nobody offered us any
help to make an even better coffee."
José Herney attributes the exceptional quality of the
Nariño coffee to Galeras, a huge volcano in the Andes
Mountain Range.
Experts say this area produces a special kind of coffee
characterized by pronounced acidity and citrus flavors, influenced
by the volcanic soil where the coffee is grown.
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This is the flavor that Starbucks customers taste when they
order a cup of Nariño Supremo.
Unfortunately, the natural abundance of this land is not only
good for growing coffee; illegal armed groups have found in this
region a very good spot for growing illegal crops.
That is why José Herney's family, and other families
involved in the IOM project, have been victim of harassment and
persecution by these groups, which not only affected their personal
security, but has also damaged their socio-economic situation.
Since 2004, IOM and Empresas de
Nariño have been developing the "Sustainable Development
Programme for Coffee Growing Families Victims of Violence in
Nariño". The first phase of the programme received financial
support from the Dutch Embassy in Colombia. Since 2009, USAID has
been supporting its implementation. A total of 1,960 families have
benefitted in 29 municipalities of the department of Nariño.
The programme has allowed IOM to consolidate a model through which
private companies, in cooperation with international organizations
and governmental institutions, can contribute to the socio-economic
development of the most vulnerable communities throughout the
country, achieving a considerable impact.
"When the people of Empresas de Nariño and IOM explained
that if the coffee growers created associations to sell our crop we
would fare better, we told them we would think about it because we
did not trust them right away. But after reflecting on their offer,
we decided to participate hoping to improve our situation,"
explains José Herney.
At the age of 60, José Herney says he learned what he
thought nobody could ever teach him: "As a result of the trainings
they offered us, we know more about selection and harvest, the
drying process, the best treatments for diseases such as rolla or
broca, in order to improve the product we deliver to the
company."
He quickly adds that his association has made a lot of progress,
including winning the "Coffee Race", an initiative that awards
coffee-producing organizations for their productivity and
compliance with ecological recommendations.
Taking Care of the Environment
Caring for the environment has been an important element
throughout the project.
"They not only taught us how to manage the coffee crops, we also
learned that we have to plant live fences to prevent erosion, we
have to take care of the environment, preserve the wild plants and
animals, and keep the water sources alive," explains José
Herney.
These environmentally sound practices, as well as positive
social and labour practices, are what prompted the Rainforest
Alliance to certify 543 coffee-producing families taking part in
the IOM project, including José Herney's.
The Future
José Herney says the future of those who took part in the
project has changed forever: "We are no longer coffee picking
farmers, we have become technicians and experts on the
subject."
Empresas de Nariño is the direct buyer of the coffee
produced by these workers, which pays a fair price for their
product and eliminates intermediaries who charge individual growers
a large percentage to handle their crops. Empresas de Nariño
sells the coffee to Starbucks and other clients around the
world.