Gerardo Mejía, Finca El Tontolo

My dad is the first person in our region who started to cultivate coffee with certificates: Fair Trade and Organic. He knew that it was going to be beneficial…

For our family, but also for the people he employed, and to help preserve the environment in our fragile region.

Now, it’s my turn. I’m 34 years old and I want to be a part of change for the better in our country. My generation has much more access to information than any generation before us. We no longer want to live with so much lack of opportunities, with the burden of debt, with 70% of our population living in poverty, often extreme poverty, meaning less than 2 dollars per day. 

I am convinced that modern technology can help us create a better and fairer world. Coffee farmers from my generation know that people in wealthy countries pay twice as much for a single cup of coffee in their favorite bar than what many people in my country can spend in an entire day for their rent, education, health care, food, and clothes…!

This is why I am so happy that Cafesmo is part of the Algrano platform. It allows us to connect with roasters, work with them directly, understand their needs and learn from one another. At the same time, we receive a fairer price for our beans than we would otherwise.

I don’t work in my finca full time, because I also run the local gas station and need to be there for much of the time. So, usually I will be at the finca from 6 until 9 in the morning, and then I will typically be at the gas station until mid-afternoon. Recently, we opened a coffee-bar in the gas station and we all took a two day barista course. Now, we are the only gas station in the wider surroundings that serves a more than decent cup. From our own beans, of course ☺.  

In the second part of the afternoon I will usually go back to the finca, but I have someone who is there all day to manage the picking team during harvest season. He works with me year round and I wouldn’t know what to do without him!

Once the coffee is picked and depulped, we bring it to Cafesmo for drying and preparation, because the Cafesmo team has a lot of experience, and they do a better job than I. But we make sure to pick only the ripest beans for our best batches, to achieve a consistent, clean profile. This is how we are able to produce stable, premium washed lots with Cafesmo’s help. It is also what allows us to generate some income as we are unable to live from what we are paid for conventional bulk batches.

We’re looking forward to working with you!

Farm facts

21 hectares between 1150 and 1300 meters. 

60% shadow 40% sun on most of the land, in some parts 50% - 50%. Mostly from local trees, also bananas and orange trees.

80% Parainema, and some Catuaí and a bit Anacafé-14.

The finca is fair trade and organic certified.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.