Jesús Erazo, Farm La Joya

Jesús – what’s in a name – is 63 years old (in 2022) but she’s as lively and energetic as a young girl.

Actually, the one thing that Jesús doesn’t like, is sitting at home doing nothing. Sure enough, she cooks for the family, but that’s because she loves to cook. Other than that, Jesús much rather spends her days in the field.

As a young girl, she herded cows with her dad. Together, they wandered through the fields and woods, day after day, looking for the freshest grass and the cleanest water for their animals. A small, joyful girl, her strong, protective father, and a handful of merry cows. Jesús played with the cows, cuddled with them when they laid down to rest, and milked them when they needed to be milked. 

She is certain that she became strong and protective as well when she was a grown up, because that’s the type of behavior that her dad showed around her and their herd. When she was a young mother of seven children, she cared for them like a lioness looks after her cubs. Now, the seven children are all grown-ups and they have started their own families, quite some years ago. 

Jesús and her husband are now empty-nesters. She’s happy; being happy is innate in her, thankfully. But the house is silent and boring, without the kids. That’s why Jesús so eagerly walks the short distance to her coffee plot every morning. During the harvest, of course, but also during the rest of the year. There’s always enough work to be done there. Jesús weeds with her machete, prunes the plants, uses pulp from the previous harvest to fertilize the new crop, or she looks after the corn and beans that she grows on the side of her coffee finca, for the family’s own consumption. 

When she’s hungry, she’ll find a piece of ripe fruit somewhere in a nearby tree, and when she’s tired she’ll enjoy a short siesta under the shade of the trees that also provide shadow for her coffee plants. While Jesús is dedicated to growing coffee since half a century – her parents also cultivated some coffee – she does not prepare any micro-lots herself. Instead, she became a member of Cafesmo as soon as the organization was founded, in 2016, and she relies on the team of younger people to do that for her. 

She will always bring in her best beans separately, as she knows that this will allow the Cafesmo team to dry and then process the highest quality lots. And of course, once a small lot is ready to be shipped to yet another faraway destination, Cafesmo will roast a few kilos for Jesús to drink back home with her husband. 

Because, although she doesn’t like to idle at home all day, she most certainly enjoys sitting on the porch with her spouse of many years and a cup of coffee in the early morning. Even the most lively and energetic of girls likes a bit of homegrown caffeine every day! 

Farm facts

3,5 hectares at 1720 to 1790 meters.

Natural shade from local trees

Varieties: Pacas and Catuaí

Farm certified organic, fair trade and RFA