Nuevo Amanecer translates to "new dawn," a fitting description for our partnership with coffee farmers in Nariño, Colombia. In 2012, we came to know farmers in the region through Catholic Relief Services' Borderlands project. Before then, most producers sold their coffee for minimal premiums to one of two exporters working on behalf of two large buyers. Through the Borderlands project, producers banded together in associations to sell coffee to quality-focused buyers. In doing so, they created a new business model previously unseen in the region.
In 2015, we started working with one of those newly-formed associations, Agrocafe El Tambo, who produce Nuevo Amanecer. Every year, the association invests more shared resources to improve the quality of their coffee and the sustainability of their farms. In 2019, the group received a Counter Culture Seeds grant to build a nursery for coffee, shade, and reforestation trees.
