IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Coffee with a natural and feminine touch

13 September 2012 | Article

Nespresso works with 50,000 farmers in their AAA Sustainable Quality Programme, which accounts for 200,000 hectares. Luz Marina Restrepo is one of them. This Colombian coffee farmer from Cafe Export came to the Congress to express her feelings about the programme, and language was never a barrier!

Many eyes were on her, but she stood still, spoke clearly and did not stop smiling while she said: “The AAA programme has provided me with knowledge on the activities that must be done on a farm to achieve good coffee production.”

She owns four hectares, in which forest areas are conserved to protect the water source that benefits 36 families.
 
“For us, nature is what matters. Since taking part in the training my farm has changed 100%, because I am more diligent, I understand the importance of environment, do not use toxic chemicals, and pay full attention to the high quality standards in the coffee processing.”

Luz Marina Restrepo won the best practice award for Sustainable AAA farming and the opportunity to go to New York to receive recognition. She remembers how Nespresso started in Anserma with only 100 families and how it has grown up to 432 families, with many more expecting to enter soon.

For her, the main obstacle to enter to the programme is the lack of technology for water treatment. Some of the changes she has seen on her farm after joining the programme include not contaminating the water or burning soil, and they take care of local species.