Tablon de Gomez lies in one of the most famous coffee-growing areas of Colombia: Nariño. It’s an area where coffee has made an immense and positive difference in quality of life—particularly specialty coffee as the area has gained renown for its unique output over the last couple decades.

To get to Tablon de Gomez we first fly to Bogota, then take a local flight to Nariño. In Nariño we board a pickup—one of few vehicle types that can pass through the muddy dirt roads ahead—and ride for another 2 hours.

La Cueva (Spanish for “the cave”) is a small community located in the Tablon de Gomez municipality, with approximately 200 people. Within this community we find Hernan, Elier, and Napoleon Urbano. The Urbano family is one of the oldest and most revered in La Cueva. 

In addition to the immense care they give their coffee-growing land, the Urbanos preserve part of their farms as untouched and untouchable forest. They also pay particular attention to native plants where waterways originate, leaving them intact and inviolate.  They and their community are hyperaware that climate change is a real problem and that it's of the utmost importance for them to do whatever they can do to preserve the ecosystem in which they live.

They intercrop coffee with other fruit trees that they use for shade like avocado and lemon. They also raise free-range animals such as chickens, pigs, and guinea pigs, whose manure and consumption contribute to these integrated ecosystem. 

The 3 producers of this lot told us that many years ago the area was not nearly as productive, and the community members’ economic situation was worse. Back then, producers grew mostly peanuts and corn and few fertilized their land. This all changed as families (including the Urbano family) switched over to growing coffee and were introduced to fertilizer, both of which have improved the community’s financial and ecological wellbeing immensely. 

The Urbano family grows Castillo and Colombia varieties and bananas. After a careful and selective harvest, the coffee is sent to cement tanks where it is fermented for 15 to 17 hours, then dried on patios or raised beds between 8 and 12 days. 

Napoleon's farm does not have road access so he has to carry all his coffee to the nearest part of the road. Hernan and Elier do have road access. 

La Cueva shares a culture of peace and respect between neighbors. In August, everyone gets together to celebrate San Ezequiel, their patron saint. On this holiday, each house puts together a troupe at the door of their houses to join the general celebration by sharing fried guinea pig and liquor. 

Our partner Red Fox has been working in this area with these specific communities since 2015, when the remoteness of the region meant a lack of strong market access. Now, producers here have options for where they sell their coffee, and we continue to pay premium rates so that the relationships feel mutually rewarding.