Region: El Roble, San Augustin, Huila
Farm: Campo Bellow
Producer: Orlando Quinayas
Alt: 1880-1900 masl
Variety: Red Caturra & Tabi
Process: fully washed – dried on raised beds
Coffee cultivation, and export doesn't happen in a vacuum, especially excellent coffee, it's the result of incredible labour and a deep support network. Orlando's coffee came our way via importer Semilla and is well supported by the Monkaaba group in Huila. This is his first time his coffee has ever been sold as a fully traceable microlot after a lifetime in coffee.
More words about Orlando & his coffee from Semilla:
"Orlando is the oldest of 6 children, 2 boys and 4 girls. He was born in the village of San Lorenzo del Obispo in San Agustín, in the midst of coffee plantations that his parents had been cultivating since the previous generation. “Común” variety was what his family was growing at the time. Immense coffee trees as Don Orlando saw them (and yes they were) and every day after school he returned to the farm to help his family with the coffee work.
He was a little inattentive in his studies, so after several attempts to finish the same grade, year after year he finally managed to complete it at the age of 14: he went up to 5th grade. After this experience at school, he did not want to continue and at the age of 15, left in search of new opportunities. He went for the first time to other regions of Huila to make a living as a coffee picker. He visited La Plata, El Pital, Oporapa and Teruel during the harvest seasons and then returned to his parents' house to continue helping on the family farm as well as on the neighboring farms in order to have a little money to support this family. He continued this for a period of approximately 4 years.
Seeing how hardworking Orlando had become. His parents gave him a small lot of 1,000 “Common” variety trees already planted for him to work on. He was 20 years old at the time. Seven years later, with the profits generated by his small crop and savings from other side work, he bought another 0.5 hectares from a neighbor for 30,000 pesos.
"In this life one is not exempt from things" says Don Orlando, who in his 20’s suffered from an illness that occasionally deprived him of his work. While looking for a solution to his health problem, he visited the village of El Roble which is a little far from his family and his farm. As fate would have it, he would not only be cured of his illness but also found his better half, establishing a sentimental relationship with one Mrs. Efigenia Burbano.
For several years after Orlando would work hard on the farm owned by Doña Efigenia's parents and on neighboring farms in El Roble, until the opportunity arose to buy a 1.75 hectare plot of land, which he had acquired with the sale of his plot on the village San Lorenzo and financed by annual installments, for a value of 300,000 pesos. It had at the time of his purchase, “Common variety” crop that was not well cared for as well as some sugarcane cultivation. At this time the Caturra variety was popular so he decided to plant 4,000 trees in place of the existing crop. Unfortunately, it turns out that it was a big challenge to get to a good production due to the climatic conditions that they faced at such high altitudes in the mountains.
The total area of the Campo Bello farm as we know it today also includes a plot of land just under 1 hectare that was inherited by Orlando’s wife as well as a neighboring lot that they bought together called "La Falda" for an extension of 1 additional hectare.
At this time they have now run the finca with the help of their children. Olando’s son Yivier is now his right hand on the farm, while Diana and his other daughters plant and grow
more coffee seedlings. Don Orlando has also begun to share part of his farm land with his children to provide more financial support to them as well as invest in their future as coffee producers.
Before joining the Monkaaba project Don Orlando was very skeptical of working in specialty coffee because of some not very good experiences he had in the past. He tried several times to sell to local “Specialty” buyers but never felt supported and received no traceability about where his coffee ended up and also after receiving no recognition for his work, he gave up. It was only in 2022 at the invitation of his daughter Diana, who had previously had contact with the Monkaaba project, Don Orlando felt encouraged to grant samples to be tasted and begin to discuss the idea of selling to Semilla through the group. Then once again, with the promise of actual transparency and support from Semilla, Don Orlando took on the challenge of producing specialty coffee by devoting additional labor and investment in infrastructure with the purpose of improving quality.
And now we see that this collective work has results: this is the first ever micro lot on behalf of him and his family that will be traced all the way to the final client. Orlando says that he feels very proud and happy, motivated to continue improving, sharing and learning with his children and neighbors.