Story
A mellow, sugary offering, El Tambo was grown by 8 women farmers representing the El Tambo municipality and three other vicinities — Piendamó, Caldono, and Popayán — in Colombia’s Cauca department. This community blend of Castillo and Colombia varieties was supported, selected, and transported by Indiegrow, a social-impact coffee importer/exporter founded in 2020 by Alejandro Vizcaino with aid from the UN Peacebuilding Fund. Smooth, syrupy, and full-bodied, we taste apple sauce, brown sugar, and nutmeg in the cup.
Indiegrow’s mission is to condense the coffee value chain and secure fair compensation for farmers, while ensuring that harvests meet the highest standards of quality, traceability, and ethical sourcing. Their model has succeeded in elevating earnings — the average payment per pound for El Tambo increased by 21.6% over the DPC base market price — but that’s only part of their contribution. Alongside programs by the AMUCC (Association of Women Coffee Growers of Cauca) and Cauca Coffee Growers Cooperative, some of the social benefits Indiegrow has been able to offer include housing improvement projects, technical assistance, drymill infrastructure upgrades, and cash microloans.
Representing 60 women producers from the region, Indiegrow’s “Brewing a Better World by Women” initiative helps close the gender gap by investing in the sustainable, regenerative future of coffee production in Cauca, where small farm holdings are dominated by men. The 8 women involved in this lot span multiple generations (between 35-78 years of age!) which is a testament to coffee being an anchor in an area long rattled by injustice and inequality.
Stemming from a dark colonial era, land ownership and ethnic inequality has plagued Indigenous autonomy here for generations; and due to continued narcotrafficking and waves of armed guerilla crossfire, state intervention has been largely absent. Nonetheless,the work of local cooperatives and international investment networks has helped build a resilient legal economy around coffee production, with a positive outlook on the future.
Grown at ~1750 MASL and on trees aged around 5 years, El Tambo was harvested in late August 2024 and wet-fermented for 48 hours in sealed concrete tanks on the farms. Cherries were then sun-dried on raised beds for 18 days, and dry-milled in Popayán. The green coffee was stored in GrainPro bags to preserve freshness throughout transport.
Full list of Producer Names:
Nelsy Truque, Alicia Maca, Yaneth Cayapu, Eusebia Cotazo, Maria Pajoy, Elvira Lebaza, Ofelia Camayo, & Asunción Rodriguez.
