Colombia - Manos de Mujeres

Background

FTO Women Colombia

Fundación Agraria y Ambiental Para el Desarrollo Sostentible (FUDAM) is a 300-member association of organic and Rainforest Alliance certified growers founded in 2000 by seven producers with a vision of sustainable agriculture and environmental protection. These smallholders farm in and around La Unión, Nariño, where the unique terrain features high-elevation towns with farms at lower elevations, surrounded by peaks and rough roads unlike other Colombian coffee regions.

Manos de Mujeres

This specific lot is produced by Manos de Mujeres, a women's subgroup within FUDAM. The membership remains committed to organic farming principles despite pressure to use chemical inputs, explaining, "This is just how we live, these are our values and our way of life."

Farmers pick coffee during the day and de-pulp it in the afternoon, typically fermenting for 16–24 hours dry. Coffees are washed two or three times before drying in "casa elbas", mechanical dryers (25–40 hours), or parabolic dryers (up to 15 days).