COLOMBIA LUZ DIVIA FIERRO CALDERON

After the cherry is collected from the fields, Pillo carries out the post-harvest processing in the wet mill. The harvest is put into large tanks filled with water to "float" and sort the coffee. The next day, Pillo de-pulps and ferments the beans for another 60 hours in tanks. He then washes the coffee once and puts it out to dry on his rooftop-style dryer for up to 18 days.

Across Latin America, coffee harvests rely on an often unseen migrant workforce. Many pickers face unstable conditions and low pay, while farmers struggle to secure skilled labor during critical harvest windows, challenges made even harder by climate unpredictability. To help address this, exporter Azahar launched the Pickers Project in 2017 through its Colombian foundation, Manos al Grano. The program trains full time professional pickers and provides them with stable salaries and benefits, then deploys them to partner farms as needed. For pickers and for producers like Sandy and Pillo, initiatives like this represent a meaningful step toward a more sustainable and equitable future for coffee-growing communities.

Pillo and Sandy’s dedication to their farm and community represents a younger generation of coffee growers from southern Huila who also honor their family's legacy. We are fortunate to be able to roast and share this coffee, and look forward to the future of El Meson.