Like his parents before him, Diofanor has always worked as a coffee farmer. Everything he knew about coffee – from sowing to post-harvest - he learned from the traditional methods of farming passed down to him.

Now, he considers himself part of a new generation of coffee entrepreneurs. He was one of five Victorious coffee growers of Olam Colombia selected and paid for to attend a Q Processing course to master the art of coffee processing.

“The processing course in Popayán was very good to learn and clarify the concepts about the alternative processing methods in coffee. I have really benefited from it, as it gave us the opportunity to get involved in those new processes and we have applied them to the farm. In this way, we’ve been able to produce differentiated coffees such as honeys and naturals, noticing differentiated prices as well!... We have replicated this knowledge with many other farmers from the Project trying to multiply the impact of that information...”

Post-harvest processing plays a defining role in the development of coffee flavour and quality. Having superior quality beans in a competitive market is a differentiator and for this the farmers are rewarded with a higher price.

Equipped with new post-harvest techniques, the five farmers are now sharing this best practice with their farmer colleagues, so that the whole group can prosper from making the grade for specialty coffee.

“Thanks to the different processes, we can guarantee exceptional characteristics and add value to our coffee.”