Colombia: Damian Bolaños

Damián Bolaños:
Damián has many memories from his childhood and adolescence, mostly spent near the urban center of San Agustín: his school was just a few steps away, few neighboring houses but plenty of children around for games and adventures, the town was just a few minutes' walk away, and every weekend he traveled to his parents' farm, also a few hours' walk through waste, the Naranjos River suspension bridge, and up the mountain to the La Muralla trail. During school breaks, it was every day.

"My parents, my brother Yoiner, and their dogs would leave before 6 a.m., loaded with food in our backpacks, arriving a little before 8 a.m. to start work on the farm until 5 p.m., when we would resume our journey to Kennedy."

It was a tough time, lasting a little over 20 years. After finishing high school in 2012 and seeking financial support, he began looking for work in the town, working at a supermarket for over a year. A little bored with the routine, he returned to the farm. He also had a weekend job at the Coagrohuila warehouses for a few months until the opportunity arose to work part-time for an agrochemical marketing company. This allowed him to alternate between farm duties. While visiting several municipalities in southern Huila and several farms, he acquired information and knowledge that he used to feed back and apply on his farm with his parents and siblings, who were more involved. With the money earned from this work, he invested partly to purchase supplies and pay labour for the farm.

The other part of the money he saved went to buy a motorcycle to transport him to work and to the farm. Although it wasn't enough to get around, and a little tired of the daily walks from Kennedy to the farm, they decided to move to La Muralla in 2015. They unexpectedly built a room, a kitchen, and a small processing plant to pulp and ferment their coffees. Previously, they had done this on neighbouring farms, but the idea of organizing themselves as the situation improved with effort and dedication was on their minds. In these new beginnings, lacking infrastructure, their harvests were sold as soaked coffee to local businesses or neighbours who dried and sold them on their behalf. In 2017, at the initiative of a friend, Damián and his family participated in the "Best of Huila" coffee cup competition, a coffee auction where their coffee was among the top 15 out of 300 lots entered. This gave them even more impetus to work and delve deeper into the world of specialty coffees.

He resigned from the agricultural inputs company to dedicate himself to coffee cultivation on the farm and joined a company that exports coffee from the region as a direct support person. He performed various tasks there, gaining new experiences and learning, and managing to sell a lot of coffee abroad in his name. He strongly supported this company for a few years until, due to unfavourable circumstances for Damián, he was let go without any reason and worried about what would happen to his coffees in 2023. After several discussions with the MonKaaba project team, he gained support and joined the team as an assistant roaster of coffee samples. He also worked hard to improve his coffee. He understood that recognition and true value are earned through action and perseverance. He feels fortunate to be a young specialty coffee producer.

Total farm size: 6 hectares

Pricing structure: