AMUCAFLOME (Associación de Mujeres Caficultoras de Flores de Mesa) 

The veredas that are part of the association, like the rest of southern Tolima, were part of the armed conflict in Colombia. Guerrilla groups of Colombia operated in these areas. This created a long history of insecurity and slowed down all economic development in the region. This is part of the reason why Amucaflome was created, to try to boost the economic growth of its associates.

Amucaflome runs different projects and teaches associates how to take care of the ecosystem that surrounds them. The association has a vegetable garden which allows the group to earn a second income. All associates have to work certain days of the month to sell the vegetables and save money for the construction of the headquarters that they are building. They also produce organic fertiliser they sell to other farmers and buy for their own farms.

The Amucaflome association focuses on producing specialty coffee. They run workshops for baristas and are currently working on a project with the Tomila government where they will receive a roaster.

Washed Process

All associates process their coffee in a very similar way on their small 2ha farms. Once harvested, they float the coffee to remove unwanted material and bad cherries, and pulp it immediately in the afternoon. It then dry ferments overnight for 16 to 18 hours.

It is then washed the next morning and put in the solar dryer immediately to dry evenly for the next 7 to 10 days.