Our visit was sponsored by ACDI/VOCA, an outreach program to small farmer co-ops in developing countries sponsored by American cooperatives.We were welcomed to the "Los Gauchos" co-op by the governing board of this co-op.This co-op is in the southern part of the Huila provence.

Looking down on the Los Gauchos community from a farm we visited.

The coffee trees on the first farm we visited were shaded with plantain trees. The same trees also supply the fruit that is a mainstay of the Colombian diet.

The trees were heavy with coffee cherries. The cherries were still green and would not be picked until they were red.

When harvested, the red cherry is pulped witha small mill (aqua-pulper) that also removes some of the musilage surrounding the bean. The coffee then soaks in the tanks for 12-16 hours where the rest of the musilage dissolves. This method uses much less water than the traditional "washed" coffee processing and causes much less pollution of Colombias rivers. The ACDI program has supplied many of the co-op's farmers with these new procesing systems.

Once pulped, the coffee is dried in these kind of solariums and on raised racks.

The farmers and their families were very gracious and friendly. They were happy to pose proudly by their coffee and to get the whole family together for a photo.

Wherever we went we were invited into their homes for (what else?) coffee often accompanied by cheese which as far as I can tell was consumed morning, noon and night.

We had a cupping in the south Huila town of Pitalito. Several co-ops presented their coffees and two were excellent. We may try to purchase one of the coffees in July if the quality is consistant with these samples.

At a consolidating warehouse in Nieva, the capitol of Huila, coffee is hand picked to remove defects according to buyers specifications.

Colombians take their coffee very seriously, but that doesn't stop them from enjoying themselves. The project that ACDI / VOCA is sponsoring is working in Colombia and we can only hope that it is expanded to help as many farming families as possible.