Coffee is the driver of change in southern Tolima - Other Cities - Colombia

In 2006 Planadas, and the south of Tolima in general, went through the bloodiest of an era that whipped the tranquility of the entire country. That same year, then-president Álvaro Uribe declared the municipality a “strategic recovery zone” due to the total power that the insurgency wielded.

The influence of the FARC’s 21st Front in the area was absolute and, at the same time, the anxiety increased, as members of the Dipol, the Sijin and the Army began to carry out covert operations, one of the basic strategies of the counterinsurgency fight. .

Coffee landscape in San Miguel de Planadas.

Photo:

Camilo Jiménez / Supplied Astrid Medina / THE NEW DAY.

In the midst of this turbulent environment there was good news that, for many, opened a path of change: Edith Enciso, from the La Isla farm in the district of Gaitania de Planadas, won the ‘Cup of Excellence’ and the recognition of producing one of the best specialty coffees in Colombia.

Tolima coffee is today known throughout the world for its quality in the cup, which is due to the attributes of its volcanic soils, with characteristics that are highly valued among experts: fruity notes, apricot, peach, among others, which make it much more aromatic.

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The great advantage of the department is that organic coffee is produced throughout the year, a feature that differentiates it from competitors such as the Sierra Nevada, which harvests only between October and March. Grown mostly on small plots, 96.7% of coffee growers in Tolima are small producers of less than five hectares.

Social change

The department is the third largest producer nationwide, with a market share of 12.8% in 108,141 hectares of different varieties in 38 of the 47 municipalities, according to the National Federation of Coffee Growers. However, coffee in the south has not only been aid and a driver of development, it has also become a symbol of change: “A few years ago, when coffee came in, the poppy came out,” says Ana Jesús Valderrama, a coffee grower from the Vereda Canoas Copete de Ataco and producer of Cafimujer.

There are hundreds of examples of associations, cooperatives, groups, neighbors and friends who see coffee as an opportunity for improvement in this region. “In the south of Tolima, coffee has been a symbol. It occurs among coffee growers, but also among victims, indigenous communities, and ex-combatants. With coffee, the community was integrated, and that is an immense contribution to the construction of peace,” said Carlos Guillermo Ospina, Truth Commissioner who has worked for years in this area of ​​Tolima.

Foreign coffee marketers visit Gaitania.

Photo:

Camilo Jiménez / Supplied Astrid Medina / THE NEW DAY.

ASOPEP is one of the most important associations of coffee producers in southern Tolima. It currently has 349 members, of which 100 are dedicated to cocoa and 249 to coffee production in Planadas, Ataco and Huila. Among the activities they carry out, the headquarters of the association works as a collection center for coffee and cocoa. 1,200,000 kilos of coffee circulate every year. They also act as a bridge to allow the product to be exported: ASOPEP negotiates with the client abroad, sends the coffee to the exporting company and thus closes the deal.

The brand of coffee ‘Third Agreement’, produced by former FARC members of the El Oso Territorial Space for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR), in Planadas, is accompanied by ASOPEP. The association sells them organic coffee and the reincorporated roast it and market it. The first peace agreement was reached in 1996 between the Nasa indigenous people and the FARC, the second was between the National Government and the FARC in 2016. Now, the “third agreement” seeks to be a symbol of the total overcoming of violence.

Reincorporated are part of several production units in the old ETCR of El Oso, in Planadas.

Photo:

Camilo Jiménez / Supplied Astrid Medina / THE NEW DAY.

“Work is now easier. Before, people were afraid to come to this region because of the violence. The foreigners were afraid to come, but now they do it even by land to get to know. There is more trade and things are looking better: you know that coffee makes friends and brings progress”, said Jorge Rojas, physical analyst at ASOPEP. Created 8 years ago, today the association has an 8-hectare farm where they offer coffee growers drying services, a cocoa storage center and a coffee school for children is being built.

Coffee associations have become an option for community cooperation to consolidate the growth of this important economic subsector. It has given many of the small producers the possibility of technifying production and marketing at high levels. Groups of coffee growers such as Acedga or ASOTBILBAO in Gaitania, Asocalarama or the Corporación Agropecuaria Café Hermosas, in Chaparral, Ascafur Coffee Association in Rioblanco, are models of success and overcoming complex stages.

CAMILO JIMENEZ*
The new day
United Colombia

Protagonists of 'Coffee with the aroma of a woman' would not have gotten along

There have been many cases in which the protagonists of different productions are ‘arrowed’ in the middle of the recordings; in other situations a great friendship is formed, but there are times when the main actors do not get along at all. Apparently that’s what happened with the stars of ‘Coffee with the aroma of a woman’.

Telemundo’s adaptation of the successful Mexican telenovela premiered in May 2021; However, it was not until February 3 when it arrived on Netflix, receiving a great reception among users of the streaming platform.

Colombian Laura Londoño and Cuban William Levy star in the story, giving life to ‘Gaviota’ and ‘Sebastián’. Although within the plot of “Café con aroma de mujer” both characters live an intense romance, apparently off camera both Levy and Londoño only focused on doing their job and did not have a friendly relationship.

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Didn’t William Levy and Laura Londoño get along on the recordings of ‘Café con aroma de mujer’?

As reported by various media, the relationship between William Levy and Laura Londoño was not good at all, something that left more than one amazed, since both stars look very connected and in love with their roles.

According to ‘I know everything’, a Colombian entertainment program, both William and Laura came to the point of shouting to claim seriousness and responsibility for the work they were doing together, because Levy did not abide by the rules.

In addition, it was learned that apparently the team of filmmakers had to meet with the protagonists to iron out rough edges, since Londoño came to describe his co-star as “immature”.

As if this were not enough, it has been commented that the Cuban actor did not fully enjoy the scenes of kisses or expressions of affection with ‘Gaviota’, because given the uncomfortable reactions that she had with him, he could not concentrate and even less express love for the scenes.

Photo: Instagram/ cafeconaroma

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They create a machine that facilitates the roasting of Quindío coffee - Other Cities - Colombia

With the purpose of helping coffee growers in the region, a research group from the School of Administration and Marketing of Quindío (EAM) undertook the task of designing equipment that will improve the roasting of the grain and that in turn could generate greater profitability for coffee growers.

Professors Néstor Iván Marín and Alexander Vasco, attached to the Mechatronics engineering program of the EAM, created the dynamic coffee roasting system, a project that includes an intelligent roasting assistant that allows the same roasting profile to be replicated as many times as necessary, ensuring the desired quality.

According to the experts, the roasting profile is the process that highlights the flavors of the coffee through the relationship between time, temperature and visible or auditory signals during the roasting curve. However, the EAM teachers found that many coffee growers lost money after carrying out the roasting process because the managers of the roasters did not assure them that they had the same previous profile.

”45% of the final value of the coffee is given by the roasting, that part of the process gives it a great added value. Many coffee growers must export green beans because they do not have the capacity or the equipment to roast and they lose a large portion of money. And those who do roast it in the country, most of them make it up, that is, they pay to have it roasted, but they are not guaranteed that they will always have the same flavor,” explained researcher-teacher Alexander Vasco.

And although there is automated equipment that monitors the roasting curve, it is too expensive for coffee growers who, in most cases, do not have the resources to buy a roaster.

According to data from the Quindío coffee study carried out by the Armenian Chamber of Commerce, during 2021 each roasting plant in the department manufactured at least 18 coffee brands, in addition to its own brand.

”What coffee grower, who only has a few hectares to grow the grain, is going to put 120 million pesos or more into a team of those. What we did was look for simpler tools to do the same thing as one of those teams and we added several more things to it,” added Vasco.

The teachers ordered a manual toaster to be manufactured, but with some improvements that were needed to install the additional parts and incorporate the created software.

”The people who roast are expert roasters, they have a whole ritual for this work and depending on how they roast it, the coffee can vary, since there are between 120 and 160 types of flavors and aromas. In the roast you can throw a coffee or on the contrary give it a special plus. Any change is as if it were another coffee and there is no business that is sustained with so many variants,” said the teacher.

The equipment designed has several ways to make toasts and its use is friendly to anyone. It can be manipulated by both an expert roaster and a modest coffee grower, after programming the necessary parameters and saving the roasting profile.

”The software has a database and saves the curves created there. The automatic mode can be used, loading the required curve and then the equipment will replicate it, ensuring the aromas and flavors regardless of external factors such as cold, heat, etc,” added the teacher.

The university has already started the process of registering the industrial secret and patent before the competent authorities.

Meanwhile, several coffee growers in the department make their coffee using this equipment, and in addition to this, the university is developing a pilot test with the production of Don Narciso coffee, whose roasting is also carried out with this equipment.

This coffee produced by the EAM was created in homage to the founder of the university, Narciso Concha. Its roasting profile was created by an expert and for a few months it has been marketed in Plaza Málaga, a tourist viewpoint located in the village of Pueblo Tapao. Coffee drinks such as cappuccino, latte and others are prepared there and bags of ground coffee are sold.

”We have been doing an analysis, the idea is also to bring roasted coffee to the United States and open a store there. Samples have already been sent to several universities and they have really liked the coffee. The idea is to generate resources for the research group to be self-sustaining,” said David Concha, health coordinator at the EAM institution.

And he added that this project “has been a challenge for the engineers and for the university, which has invested a number of resources in it.”

LAURA SEPULVEDA
FOR THE TIME
ARMENIA

As Fewer Americans Attend Church, Can Coffee Shops Fill the Void?

Churches and other houses of worship have historically played critical social and political functions in American society. But fewer people are attending religious services, and the decline of churches and other houses of worship threatens to leave a void that could potentially be filled by coffee shops.

“For so much of American history, the church has really been — or their congregations have really been — essential, providing an unheralded role in providing cohesion and connectedness in communities … encouraging civic engagement and political participation,” says Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“It was not happenstance or luck that the civil rights movement emerged out of the church,” Cox says. “And you see that cross-culturally … whether it’s in predominantly white rural communities, in the suburbs, wherever, churches have historically been really, really important.”

The number of Americans who say they belong to a church, mosque or synagogue has steadily declined in the United States since 1999, according to a Gallup poll.

Churches and other houses of worship have also played a role in helping immigrants assimilate once they arrive in America, Cox says.

In 1999, 70% of Americans said they belonged to a church, mosque or synagogue. By 2020, that number had dropped to 47%. A 2019 survey found that only about three in 10 Americans say they attend weekly religious services.

Third places

Lack of involvement and affiliation with churches, mosques and synagogues means people might be missing out on what urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg dubbed as “third places” — public gathering spots that offer something that home, the “first place,” and work, the “second place,” might not.

Oldenburg argued that third places are critical to a community’s social vitality. An October 2021 survey conducted by the American Survey Center found that commercial spaces like coffee houses foster trust and connection in American communities and could help fill the void left by churches.

“If you’re a regular at a cafe, the barista may know what you usually order, and they can make it for you, and that feels good,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Maria Espinola, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

“It feels good to be recognized, to know that people are expecting you, to know that people care about you, to know that you belong, because the need for belonging and human connection is a fundamental need that we all have, and it’s important to have that fulfilled in different ways,” Espinola says. “So, places like third places can allow us to do that.”

Customers gather at Cafe Cosmos in downtown Seattle, March 15, 2020, in Washington.

In the past, churches and other houses of worship have been a third place for many Americans. In 2019, 67% of people surveyed said they have a third place — a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, park or other place in their community that they visit regularly. That number dropped to 56% in 2021 — a number that could have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we found was that people who had a third place were much more connected to their community,” says Cox. “They’re much more likely to engage in other activities there. They are much more trusting of their neighbors. There’s a whole great array of positive social outcomes that were connected to having a third place … and for a lot of Americans, it’s a coffee shop or a cafe.”

What coffee shops have in their favor is that they can be found almost everywhere, all over the country, and anyone who wants to can stop by regularly. And many are open most days of the week.

Cox says even brief coffee shop encounters can increase a sense of belonging.

“I think there’s a lot of potential here, and a lot of it is unrealized potential,” Cox says. “But in terms of what they could do, there’s a lot there. I’ve been in places where the same group of folks come in there to play chess. Or they have their informal bunch of retirees. … They just got together, and they talked and chatted and caught up with each other. … I don’t know where else they would have gone — maybe a church, but maybe not — to share information, to encourage each other to maybe get involved in an activity. And I think that is what is so powerful about coffee shops.”