Las Mercedes - Colombia North 2011 Verified listing

Overview:

His father a coffee farmer “Jose Anastacio Ossa”, established in 1970 in the village San Isidro - Acevedo, Heladio at his 14 years has seed his first 70 coffee threes of Typica variety and 1100 of caturra variety, and from his 18 to the 22 years of age works as a picker in Planadas -Tolima. At his 22 years (1986) he bought his first farm in the village “El Castel” from Aipe – Huila and he has planted 3000 coffee trees of Colombia variety. In en 1988 sold that farm and returned with his wife to his father’s farm, and then he bought the farm “Las Mercedes” in the village “San Isidro - Acevedo, where he is living now. In 1991 he begins to suffer of arthritis and despite continuous managing his property and seeding more and more coffee with the support of its wife and family. He has renovating his coffee lots and today come renewing all the related lots at his land and today the property they have ages between the 2 and 6 years, optimal ages to produce coffee of high quality. In 2010 he planted new trees in a lot with 5500 coffee plants Castillo variety. At the beginning he sold wet parchment to the market, but since 2000 he built his first drying system and he is selling since then the coffee through the Cooperative of Coffee Growers. In 2003 he joined the group “San Isidro” as an official member and he also worked as a leader being vice-president of the group, fiscal and member of the credit committee. He is also being part of Rainforest certification process since 2005; reason to be more conciseness about the environment care and nature; he tried to keep the wood around his farm, small rivers, springs, birds, trees for shading, treatment for solids and liquids coming from the wet milling process and from his house, management of pulp and organic residues to make compost. For the coffee process he is recollecting in a selective way, so the ripe cherries are catch separate and also that is the way to pass them through the pulping machine then the fermentation washing and drying in a patio with full sun exposition. Main Harvesting time October – December 80%, Mitaca June 20%.