Alto Bonito seems an apt name for this incredibly high altitude, not to mention beautiful, farm in the Rioblanco municipality of Colombia’s Tolima department. 

The Farm 

Established in 2014 by Rusbelth Arango and his brother, Alto Bonito is located at a staggering 2,050 metres above sea level in the Tolima department of Colombia, in the municipality of Rioblanco. Inspired from a young age by their father’s career in coffee cultivation, the brothers set out to produce quality coffee outturns from the 6 hectare farm, of which just 2 are planted out the traditional cultivars of the region, namely Caturra, Castillo and Variedad Colombia. In 2019 Rusbelth bought out his brother’s share of the farm and now runs Alto Bonito with his wife, Sandra Milena. Through developing and improving the calibre of their coffee production they have improved their quality of life for themselves and their family. 

Their Approach

The cornerstones of producing quality coffee are healthy coffee trees and good cherry selection. During harvest the family pitches in as well as 7 neighbours from within the community, and Rusbelth has meticulous standards for cherries to be received and processed. They are pulped on the same day using a Fimar No. 2 depulping machine which is slowly fed the ripe coffee cherries. The depulped parchment coffee then spends an average of 34 hours in ceramic-tiled tanks, undergoing a dry fermentation stage, before it is washed, sifted through and washed again to remove any defects. The clean coffee is then dried slowly under retractable shading on a rooftop, for around 15 days, before it is sealed into sacks and stored before being delivered to Caravela’s buying hub in Herrera.

Rusbelth and Sandra have a small nursery where they are germinating Pink Bourbon and Pacamara to diversify the cultivars in their portfolio, and work with Caravela’s PECA team to ensure the best crop husbandry practices as well as post-harvesting methodologies. Knowing that customers are enjoying a great cup of coffee gives them great joy and their dedication to ensuring high standards are met is really heartening, and so we’re thrilled to be able to pay a premium price to ensure their hard work is rewarded.

The Exporter

Typically, Caravela operate an 80/20 model, working with a vast majority of smallholders and a minority of farmers with large coffee estates. In their latest impact report 87% of their producing partners had farms of less than 5 hectares in size. More than half of the producers they worked with were visited by their PECA team, and in Colombia alone they are working with 1,746 producers across 52 communities. 

As regards their PECA program, they have said the below:

“Coffee growers are the heart of our business model, without them we could not maintain and sustain this value chain. They are responsible for producing the best coffees that delight us every day. The Coffee Growers Education Program (PECA) has developed a symbiotic relationship between coffee growers and Caravela since we’re always learning from each other. For many years, we have accumulated experiences throughout experimentation and work that provides tools to empower and educates coffee growers, resulting in consistent high-quality coffees.”