Argelia, Cauca
Boost to the coffee economy
300 families
Members of the Argcafee, Aromas del Micay, Asomucadi, Asovida, and Cemas associations who received assistance.
100.000 kg of coffee
Marketed in a way that creates new market opportunities for producers.
The project, carried out in two phases between October 2020 and May 2023, took place in the municipality of Argelia, Cauca, where the Apuna Foundation and Siruma Coffee, in partnership with USAID’s Territorios de Oportunidad program, launched an initiative aimed at strengthening the production and marketing of specialty coffees as a sustainable alternative to illicit crops.
This project benefited nearly 300 coffee-growing families belonging to the Argcafee, Aromas del Micay, Asomucadi, Asovida, and Cemas associations, promoting coffee as a driver of economic, social, and environmental development in the region. Through training programs, the technical and organizational capacities of producers were strengthened in areas such as coffee quality and coffee processing.
One of the key milestones was the training of seven young people, the children of coffee farmers, who developed skills in cupping, fermentation, roasting, agricultural extension, advanced crop management, barista skills, Q processing, and entrepreneurship. This process led to the establishment of a local unit of coffee quality promoters, now organized as the Corporation of High-Quality Coffee Promoters (CORPOUPC), which continues to support and strengthen the region’s coffee associations.
As a result, in 2023, more than 100,000 kg of dry parchment coffee from Argelia were successfully marketed through Siruma Coffee, generating new market opportunities for producers. This process has helped transform the region’s agricultural outlook, establishing specialty coffee as a sustainable alternative that strengthens the local economy and opens new opportunities for the region’s coffee-growing communities.
