Citizen-Consumer Reflections from Colombia
In November 2024, our staff traveled to Colombia with members of our Citizen-Consumer community to visit our farmer partners there. Below are reflections from two members, Terry Steele and Susan Redlich, shared directly upon their return home.
Terry’s Reflections
“Coffee is more than coffee. It is more than a crop on a shaded hillside or an ocean of beans awaiting the skilled hands of a sorter. It is more than a commodity in a sprawling supply chain. And yes, it is even more than a cozy beverage that awakens your senses each morning.”
Coffee is connection. Across the street and across the world, coffee brings people together. Last week, coffee connected our delegation of twelve to an indomitable group of organic farmers in Colombia. Seeking knowledge, we found inspiration. Sharing knowledge, they found friends.
The three host families Anna and I visited opened up a whole new world for us. Oscar, Amado and Martha’s farms were lush and green, bursting with the natural beauty and abundance of a land unspoiled by pesticides and chemicals. We ate fruit right from the trees. We sampled honey from the hive. We traipsed through a Garden of Eden picking coffee beans, oranges and bananas, catching glimpses of butterflies and enjoying snippets of birdsong. At times, it felt otherworldly. Most of the time, though, it felt exactly like how the world was supposed to be.
The coffee trees stood like royalty among the flora, as if aware of their esteemed place in Colombian society. Entrusting their care to the soil, the surrounding ecosystem, and their farmers, the coffee trees offered up their precious red berries. We carefully plucked the berries from the branches, dropped them into the buckets tied around our waists, and hoped - against all odds - that we were actually being helpful. This harvesting, we knew, was the start of the remarkable journey from tree to cup.
We witnessed the transformation firsthand. The berries were pulped, fermented and washed. The resulting beans were spread out to dry in the sun and we used a broom-like tool to turn them - once, twice, three times. Rocio, made famous by being featured on the packaging of a special line of Equal Exchange coffee, taught us how to sort the dried beans ensuring only the best ones were selected for Equal Exchange!
At the collection warehouse, we shared in the excitement of a family eagerly awaiting the valuation of the fruits of their collective labor. Then off we went to the dry mill where the beans were sorted by size, weight, density and color to prepare for export. During our travels, we even spotted a port where the beans set sail to roasteries overseas, like the pride of West Bridgewater. At every step of this amazing journey, the beans bestowed upon their handlers an aura of honor and prestige. For these men and women were the stewards of a powerful symbol of national identity and pride.
While it was the coffee that drew us to Colombia, it was the organic coffee farmers who came home with us in our hearts. Small in number but immense in their commitment to organic and fair-trade practices, they work tirelessly to protect the planet, their families and ultimately, those of us lucky enough to savor coffee made from their beans.
The staff of Asprocafe Ingruma and our host families shared not just their lives and livelihoods but also their wisdom, kindness, and hospitality. They welcomed us into their homes and opened our eyes to the connections that matter most: between farmers and the Earth, between producers and consumers, and between strangers who became friends. This is what coffee is truly about.
Susan’s Reflections
“Visiting co-op farm families in Rio Sucio, Colombia, was for me deeply meaningful, moving, and motivating. What did I see? More than anything, I saw connections.”
Farmers Don Juan, Don Miguel, and Don Jaczander showed me how connected they each were to their ancestral lands, to their families, and to the diverse array of plants and trees that sustain their families. We saw firsthand how organic farmers connected with their cooperative, Asprocafe Ingruma, which supported their operations with agronomists and financing.
Finally, we witnessed the cooperative’s connection with Equal Exchange when we met Asprocafe staff, who have had a trusting and strong relationship with Equal Exchange buyers over many years.
As a Citizen-Consumer member of the delegation, I wondered how useful I would be. I was reassured when Luz Marina, General Manager of the co-op told us, “It is important for the farmer families to know their efforts to grow good quality coffee are appreciated.” At each farm we visited, I was able to convey in my rudimentary Spanish that people in my community seek out organic coffee because of its high quality and especially the fact that the plants are grown without pesticides.
I told them that when I return, I will verify that the farmers devote a huge amount of labor in caring for the coffee plants. Meeting the farmers of Asprocafe Ingruma has motivated me to share these stories. The experience has forever changed the way I look into a cup of EE coffee.
