Colombia - El Carmen

Origin: Colombia

Farms: El Carmen de Acevedo

Region: Huila

Producer: Red Association

Elevation: 1400-2100 Masl

Process: Washed

A superbly balanced rich cup of coffee with big caramlised brown sugar and cherry notes. 

Raw Material and the Red Associations

In May 2017, Raw Material met with Invercafe and two new coffee producer groups in Pitalito, Huila, to understand what is preventing farmers from accessing the specialty market. During these discussions, we heard farmers describe their core challenges: a lack of key infrastructure; and a lack of stable prices to provide certainty for investment in improved quality. Together, we also uncovered a wide gap between how the quality is discussed and measured at the farm level.

To address these challenges, Hard Lines launched Red Associations. With the new infrastructure in place, we pay individual farmers a minimum price of 1M COP/ carga of dry parchment co ee they produce through a community lot. This price results in over double the household income of a typical coffee producing family, compared with the average income in the regular market over the past 5 years. Once the new infrastructure is built, payments are received directly by producers. The goal is to achieve stable and sustainable prices for community coffee lots through improved quality control, shared knowledge, and a connection to the specialty coffee market. 

Despite good production levels, income from coffee for these families has dropped to unsustainable levels in the past few years. Producers faced a crossroad; either find alternative means of income, or find a more sustainable market. Two core constraints faced those that choose option two: a lack of key infrastructure to produce quality coffee, and access to stable prices in return. Together, we overcame both of these challenges. 

Physically, Hard Lines built drying bed facilities and QC infrastructure at the community central hub in the town of El Carmen. Through a new payment system, they provide stable prices that result in 2.5x the average household income, compared to previous seasons. El Carmen provides stable and sustainable prices for producers through a connection to the specialty market, improved quality control, and shared knowledge across the value chain.