Sustainable Coffee from Agro-ecological Fincas
Hand-picked and sun-dried coffee beans directly purchased at fair prices from individual fincas, roasted and packed in Colombia
Project Dates
Start: 2019
The Story
Café Comam is an organic specialty coffee that is directly sourced from Colombian coffee farmers and purchased at a fair price above stock market levels. To strengthen local value chains, the coffee is roasted and packaged directly at origin. In close collaboration with the environmental organization Serraniagua in El Cairo, Valle del Cauca—which supports farmers in organic coffee production—Austrian entrepreneur Natalie Weiß began exporting this sustainable, fair, and high-quality coffee to Austria in 2019.
The core objectives of the venture are to foster sustainable development within local communities, prevent deforestation, preserve the region’s exceptional biodiversity, and support farmers in adapting to climate change through sustainable coffee production.
Within the Serranía de los Paraguas nature reserve, coffee is cultivated organically on agro-ecological fincas under shade trees. In harmony with nature, monocultures and chemical inputs are avoided, while biodiversity is actively promoted. This farming system enhances farmers’ resilience to climate change, as shade trees protect coffee plants from extreme sunlight, absorb heavy rainfall, and buffer against cold spells. The region is characterized by exceptionally high biodiversity of global importance and ideal climatic conditions, which give the coffee its distinctive and unique flavor.
Success Factor | Hero Moment
An important success factor for the project is the close collaboration with the environmental organization Serraniagua, a community network of nature reserves and agro-ecological fincas dedicated to protecting and conserving the region’s biodiversity while building a sustainable agricultural production network. Through this partnership-based cooperation, project partners are supported with a premium of €1 per kilogram of coffee, which is reinvested in agro-ecological projects. These measures help promote agro-ecological practices, advance organic coffee cultivation, and maintain the outstanding quality of the coffee.
During a two-month stay of the project leader in El Cairo, a direct and trust-based relationship with Serraniagua and the coffee farmers was established by gaining deep insights into everything behind a cup of coffee, sharing the coffee journey through social media (nulldiebohne), and successfully launching the direct trade project.
Submitter
nulldiebohne by Natalie Weiß
