The Profile

Luis Carlos Bedoya Restrepo is 38 years old and lives on his six-hectare farm with his wife, Gala Ester Suarez, and their five children. He inherited most of the property from his family and saved up to purchase the rest himself. He sees coffee as the best way to economic security for himself and his family. His farm is currently planted with 25,000 Castillo and Colombia coffee trees over five hectares.

Luis leaves the last hectare devoted to green space, allowing a lush forest to flourish. Luis knows that this is the best way to enrich his soil and protect the area’s biodiversity at the same time. He employs up to ten people during the harvest, always the same people from his village every year. This helps improve consistency on both sides and ensures that everyone is fully trained. No chemical pesticides are used on the farm, and Luis makes sure that everyone respects the water sources on the property, leaving no trace of garbage and performing all maintenance by hand.