El Cedro - Colombia North 2007 Verified listing

History

I was born on January 15th, 1953, in San Isidro Village, which is located in the municipality of Avecedo, Southern of Huila. I grew up in a humble family, my grandparents were colonists from other areas of Huila and came here a long time ago. When I was a child I went to the primary school of the village, but I couldnt continue studying because, being a child, I had to start working to help my parents with the house expenses. When I was 25 years old, I received the first training in coffee, because my parents were not coffee growers. At that time I began with coffee in the farm and with some neighborgs we conformed a friendship group which later become the San Isidro Associative Group, a model for different associations in Huila. My family is conformed by wife Cecila, we got married 28 years ago, and we have 6 children and now 11 grandchildren. I am always training all the members in my family about the good practices in coffee; all the members of the family are the familiar enterprise and we all are honest, responsible, united and hard worker people.

Environmental Care

There are 2 natural sources of fresh water that are born in the farm, but there are also two brooks next to the farm: La Colorada and La Tanguemula. In the area of the farm we are developing a recent project with the National Center for Coffee Research in Colombia (CENICAFE) about the migratory birds, thanks to the dense native forest we keep in the area. We have several principles to keep in our association: Ecosystem Preservation, Wildlife Protection, Hydric Resources Protection, Good Conditions for the workers, Integrated Management of the Crops, Integral Management of Wastes, etc

Coffee Processing Information

We have two harvests in the area, the main one is between October and December, with 80% of the crop, and the fly crop between May and June with 20%. We dont use chemical products for fertilizing, we prepare our organic fertilizer with the organic wastes from the depulping and also from the house.

Other Statistics:

Soil Type: Franco Arcilloso
Annual Precipitation: 1,700 millimeters
Shade Grown Type: 50% Shade Grown
Water Source: Natural Source
No. Permanent Employees: 3
No. Temporary Employees: 17