Coffee that delivers welfare to communities

Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning to start the day, sharing a ‘tinto’ with friends and family or enjoying a coffee while working at the office, is like a kind of sacred ritual that is repeated anywhere. Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages globally, but behind every grain used to prepare that cup, there is a history of laborious and tireless work, a process of personal overcoming of men and women who get up every day to harvest and deliver an excellent product. For these people, coffee is more than a drink, it is the livelihood of their families, and specifically in our country. For coffee growers in Colombia, coffee is a source of pride, as it is a unique product given its quality and exquisite taste that has earned us recognition all over the world.

Therefore, with the purpose of contributing to the growth of coffee-growing families in our country, the Enel Colombia Foundation, a part of Enel-Codensa and Enel-Emgesa, together with the Cooperation Society for International Development (Socodevi), the Government of Canada and the National Federation of Coffee Growers, have joined together to provide support to coffee producer associations in the areas where our company is present, by generating shared value initiatives that will strengthen agro-industrially the coffee growers in the provinces of Guavio and Tequendama in the Department of Cundinamarca.

STRENGTHENING THE PRODUCTIVE COFFEE CHAIN

In this way, in 2016 the project to strengthen the coffee production chain emerged, which in a joint effort with our partners, seeks to optimize the transformation process from cherry to dry parchment coffee through benefit microcenters. This in order for the coffee to be ready to be marketed with a standardized quality among all coffee farmers in the area, which allows them to obtain better sales prices, and at the same time it gives them the possibility of delivering a product that is prepared more efficiently in terms of the use of resources, as these micro-centers allow to significantly reduce water use, and can convert the waste into compost, which is used to fertilize the land where they will grow new coffee.

“There are many benefits coffee growers obtain with coffee benefit micro-centers, because by optimizing the transformation processes of our product we can increase its quality, which will allow us to earn more income and therefore afford a better quality of life for our families.”

– Aminta Díaz, coffee grower of the municipality of Mesitas del Colegio.

WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH COFFEE GROWERS

From this joint work with the coffee-growing families of Cundinamarca, it has been possible to deliver 4 coffee benefit micro-centers, in the municipalities of Gachetá, Viotá, Gachalá and El Colegio, with which we have directly benefited 384 coffee producers, not only supporting their families but also contributing to the progress of this department.

Additionally, we have sought to promote a cooperative work culture among the coffee farmers involved and other organizations, for which we have promoted associativity, budget management, team decision making, among other skills that will allow them to continue strengthening the development of this productive activity in the region.

“We as a company know the needs of the communities where we operate, and that is why we want to contribute to their progress and development. Today we are making it possible, through a mechanism that allows us to take on a role as facilitators where, by becoming their allies and adding our efforts to help them get ahead, people can build a better future for themselves and their families”

– Carlo Ferrara, Sustainability Manager at Enel Colombia.