organicum Kairós & Asoverficol
Organicum Kairós and ASOVERFICOL (The Green of our Colombian Families Association) have been working hand in hand for many years with small producers of coffee and other local organic products such as cocoa, passion fruit and other fruits and vegetables in 13 municipalities of Huila, Tolima and Cauca. This association compromises over seven hundred people in these municipalities.
Kairós is a Colombian family company from the Tolima Region, who recognise the need to help and preserve the environment through the agricultural sector, returning to the soil the properties that the agrochemicals have removed, maintaining and improving its quality through the implementation of artisan organic products
Its coffees are Pink Bourbon, Tabi, Caturra, Colombia and Castillo varieties cultivated at altitudes of between 1450 to 1800 meters above sea level.
Most of their coffees are Dry-Natural processed – this method is the most eco-friendly due to fewer water resources being used and with which high-quality differentiated cups are obtained. Some of the quality cup scores are between 82 and 86.
They compromise a variety of delicate, soft and complex profiles, with more body, better acidity, more sweetness and fruitiness. These coffees contain an amazing diversity of flavours, from caramel, apple and cardamom to lemongrass, sugar cane and prune, as well as almond, passion fruit, honey and orange.
Collaboration with communities
- Technical Assistance in Organic Agricultural Production
- Production and Marketing of Bio-inputs and Agricultural Tools
- Production, Transformation, Marketing and Export of High Quality Coffee and Organic Agricultural Products.
This purpose is not only focused on coffee, but on ensuring that the various products that farmers have can be channeled through these means. In order to ensure that the products are and continue to be organic and certified, a fair price is guaranteed for the well-being of the small producer families.
ALGECIRAS – HUILA
Better known as the agricultural larder of Colombia, our municipality is located in the center of the Magdalena Valley, framed between the eastern mountain range and a branch of it which arises in this same mountain range in the Miraflores Valley to the south of the municipality. Bordering the department of Caquetá, it is part of the Sub North region of the department. Its territorial extension is 672 km², its height is 1,528 meters above sea level with an average temperature of 20-22 ºC.
Algeciras was a municipality that suffered crudely from the armed conflict: 12,803 victims between 2002 and 2011, the hardest years of the war in the region.
Although its inhabitants are people who have been dejected by the violence that has afflicted Colombia, they hold their heads high, wanting to show that there’s more good than bad in their land despite the lack of attention of the state.
Families
33
People
0
Municipalities
120
We want to move forward maintaining our agricultural production for the entire community, which is represented mostly in coffee crops, sugar cane, cocoa, vegetables, fruit trees and, to a lesser extent, rice crops. We want strengthen the peace without giving up, and move forward so that our products can be marketed at fair prices. As such, we can have financial security and live dignified lives without supporting the illegal armed groups or promoting poverty in the cities.
ALPUJARRA – TOLIMA
Nowadays Alpujarra is a municipality characterized by its tranquility and its exceptional climate, located in the center-south of Colombia, in the extreme southeast of the department of Tolima, bordering the department of Huila. It has an altitude of 1,361 meters above sea level, in the western slopes of the southern sector of the eastern Colombian mountain range that descends towards the valley of the Magdalena river in its upper course. Alpujarra is part of the Andean subregion of the Alto Magdalena and thanks to the fertility of its lands, rich in volcanic sediments, its agricultural sector is prominent in the cultivation of coffee, rice, cocoa, panela cane and golden honey pineapple.
Our friend Pablo, coffee producer, says: “We are currently seeking a better remuneration abroad because the government is not concerned with our situation. For example, in the past our municipality had around 17 thousand inhabitants according to statistics, whereas nowadays our population has diminished to just 5 thousand inhabitants. This is why we want to continue to be an example of the fight for the well-being of our families, and in this way invite them to return to the Colombian countryside”.
See what they are doing locally:
Their focus is on Organic Agricultural Production. The CO2 created by coffee production is offset in the communities within which it is produced. Our local partners in 13 municipalities are involved in local sustainability initiatives including proactive environmental strategies such as reforestation and agroforestry practices, planting native trees, protecting biodiversity areas locally and contributing to education and social local projects.
These practices are to let people know that there is a formula: If the coffee farmer is better paid, they are encouraged and motivated to produce the best. If they are paid a low price for their coffee, it is barely viable for the coffee farmer.
Efrén Roa tells us about the projects he works on with ASOVERFICOL:
Coffee Tasters of the Future: The young adults, sons and daughters of small farmers, are being trained in coffee cupping and other areas to be the tasters of the future. One of their objectives is that they themselves become the people who, after the cultivation and processing, carry out their own cupping. They are in the process of developing a laboratory in the municipality of Algeciras, Huila, for this purpose.
The second project is around agroforestry with the use of native trees and fruit trees in our crops, conservation of areas and the connection with local ecosystems.
The third project is in beekeeping. Each coffee grower is currently working with at least one hive of Honey Bee (Apis) and Meliponas (Stingless bees). We also have abeja angelita (Tetragonisca angustula). this guarantees better pollination in the region together with the other insects and pollinating animals. The use of pesticides is evident in the reduction of bees and insects in some regions.
Our purpose is the economic, social and environmental well-being of all, which we are implementing through good practices. We handle all the processes; however, the dry natural process is the one we use and promote. If we save and stop polluting water, it benefits us all. If we plant a tree and build a beehive, it favours us all. If we stop using agricultural toxic chemicals, which are the ones that kill microorganisms, the whole environment and society will be better off.