Colombia Gaitania
Comunity
Gaitania is a town located in the municipality of Planadas in the department of Tolima. This coffee has been harvested by the indigenous community that resides in Gaitania: Nasa Wesz, who also lives in different territories of Colombia such as Cauca and Huila.
The Nasa Wesx community works hard to improve the quality of their coffees as well as the conservation of the environment in their area, which has led them to have all their coffees certified as organic.
Two cooperatives work alongside this community to help them distribute their lots. One of them is ACEDGA, which was born in December 2006 in order to seek better opportunities for the marketing and sustainability of its coffees. Today, 72 families from the municipality of Tolima, specifically Gaitania, belong to this cooperative.
On the other hand, there is ASCI’SP (Association of Indigenous Coffee Growers of San Pedro Resguardo Páez de GaitaniaTolima). This association germinated from the initiative and entrepreneurship of some coffee growers who understood that in the current economic dynamics, the union of small coffee growers allows them to have an impact on the purpose of claiming their rights and increasing their influence in the markets, all of this, together with their ancestral respect for mother earth and interest in guaranteeing the well-being of the Nasa community.
Process Method
Only the ripe cherries are harvested and then they are taken to the depulper. In them the pulp is eliminated and the coffee passes through some water channels until it reaches the fermentation tanks. In order to eliminate the mucilage, the coffee is submerged in water for approximately 24 hours. After this time, the coffee goes through some channels of water to finish removing the mucilage that may have adhered to the bean. The coffee is then dried on patios, raised stretchers or canopies.
Once the humidity reaches 11%, the coffee is taken to the Federation Cooperative where the batches are outlined one by one to mix the coffees.
Origin
Located in central Colombia, Tolima is the third largest coffee producer in Colombia, with a 12% share in national production. The coffee zone area of the department corresponds to 116,229 hectares, with 71,498 farms; 61,465 families, located in 38 of the 47 municipalities of the department, derive their livelihood from this crop.
Planadas is a remote municipality in the south of Tolima where horror stories have not yet been told. The stigma of the FARC having proclaimed its birth as a guerrilla there has earned it years of suffering.
Despite the poor condition of the roads, the price drops, the high costs of inputs and debts, the farmers decided to bet seriously once again on coffee and now they are beginning to be rewarded. The population has 10 thousand hectares of coffee, where 4,700 coffee farms are located, optimal for growing the grain, and today contributes 11% of the department’s GDP.
Despite the difficulties that the community faces daily and especially the fight against fear, the rebirth of Planadas has the support of the locals. It does not matter that for many the town continues to be recognized as the mythical area of the FARC and designated by the authorities as a sanctuary for this guerrilla.
As an example of the effort of the planaduros in coffee work, in 2015, two coffees from Tolima – Planadas have won first and third place in the COE (Cup of Excellence).
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