Learning to farm with respect for the earth
Yet in addition to terroir, it is the human hand – from cultivation techniques to processing and grading – that also plays an important role in coffee quality. Prior to joining the AAA Program, Eraso admits that there were factors he ignored that lowered the excellence of his product. “We were losing money by selling coffee that was not processed well. Through the AAA Program I learned to process the coffee better and cleaner. We also used to dry our coffee on the ground, and animals like the chickens could get into it and make it dirty. Now I use a raised parabolic drying bed.” Being in the AAA Program has changed Eraso’s relationship to nature, and he now nurtures the biodiversity that contributes to the excellence of his crops. “Previously, we didn’t care about the forest animals. We burned or buried our trash. We didn’t leave space for the native trees but cut them down. With everything we have learned through the AAA Program, we now look after the animals. Birds that we didn’t see before now come here. We take care of the wild trees now. We don’t burn anymore, but collect and separate our trash, and use the kitchen waste for compost.”
From coffee grower to coffee entrepreneur
Since joining the AAA Program, Eraso is transforming how he runs his farm, and is glad to be reaping the benefits.
ID CARD
- Name: Jaime Elias Eraso
- Age: 53
- Farm: Piedra Grande
- Location: Olaya district, Nariño, Colombia
- Size of farm: 10 hectares
- Joined the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program: 2007
“Things have totally changed. Thanks to the increase in income paid for the sustainable quality of our green coffee we have been able to do things like fix up our house, and I bought another plot for growing coffee. Everything is better organised and clean: I’m more efficiently managing my farm. I don’t worry that the coffee will get wet if it’s raining, since the raised drying beds are covered.”
For Eraso, being in the AAA Program means more than just higher premiums; it is an on-going process of improvement: “Every day we do little things to improve. When the agronomist visits, he gives me advice on managing the farm better. With his help I am controlling the quality of the water that runs through the farm, improving my record keeping and providing more training for the people who help me in my work. We are also taking part in more group activities in the community, such as improving the roads. We have raised chickens and pigs together as a group, and we have planted vegetables.”
Eraso is glad to have found a partner in excellence: “When we talk to friends and neighbours who aren’t part of the Nespresso AAA Program, I ask them why they aren’t in it, because it’s the best thing that has happened to me and my family. It changes the way you work on the farm, such as how you manage your workers and process the coffee. I invite them to come visit my farm to see for themselves what it’s like.”
