Caravela Coffee introduced us to the Orgánica Cooperative, producers of La Golondrina, more than a decade ago. At that time, the cooperative was still establishing itself. Previously, the individual producers had belonged to larger, regional cooperatives that sold their coffee to exporters for mass-market blends, causing many exquisite coffees to get lost in the mix. The producers, led by Nelson Melo and Liliana Pabón—who both have backgrounds in community organizing—formed Orgánica in hopes of finding recognition for their high-quality product and more accountability from the organization.
Orgánica launched and first sold coffee to Caravela in 2005. Counter Culture has purchased their coffee since 2007, working with Caravela to identify, isolate, and pay premiums for the cooperative’s best lots. Over the past decade, the consistent quality of La Golondrina is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of all parties involved in the supply stream.
Orgánica's members’ farms are located in the southwestern Colombian region of Cauca—in the villages of Timbio, Guayabal, and Piendamó—and they range in size from 1 to 20 hectares. By producing high-quality coffee according to the rules of organic certification, the growers of La Golondrina are achieving what many have deemed impossible in volume- and productivity-focused Colombia. Orgánica translates to "organic" in English. We thought this might be a confusing name for a coffee, so, together with the coffee producers, we came up with a different one. We landed on "La Golondrina"—Spanish for the swallow (bird)—an icon that symbolizes the ability to cross frontiers and connect with others.
