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KC14

WS Colombia AMACA

$12.25 USD
$12.25 USD
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Story

AMACA (Asociación de Mujeres Productoras Agropecuarias del Cauca) is a group of women producers located in El Tambo, Cauca, Colombia that was formed in 1999 by 80 women from El Tambo, in Colombia’s Cauca department. They are located in the municipality of Tambo in three districts: Anaye, Chisquillo Monte Redondo and San Joaquín.

Now AMACA is 140 smallholder members strong, all women farm owners and heads of household—and their coffees are fantastic. All of the members derive their livelihood and the livelihoods of their families from the cultivation and production of coffee.

Today, 140 active members from three different villages across the El Tambo municipality make up AMACA. The average farm size is 1 hectare (5,000 trees) per member, some members have 3+ hectares and many members have less than one.

AMACA's motto is to bring a better quality of life to its community and family members. To this end, we ensure that coffee importers pay a premium above the value of the coffee. This directly supports the group's aspirational goals, which include adequate warehouse space to store, cup and manage the coffees.

In 2008, AMACA partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture, the governor of Cauca, and the municipality of El Tambo to increase the production and quality of coffee on 80 members’ farms. In 2010, the organization “Social Action” supplied 22 farms with new wet mills and processing tanks.

In terms of harvesting and process, most all members harvest only fully ripe cherries, depulping on the same day as harvest, processing on their own farms, and drying on raised beds inside parabolic dryers.

  • Drying happens on raised beds inside parabolic dryers.

  • They harvest and process the coffee within their own farms. They hand pick only fully ripe cherries and they get depulped on the same day as harvest.