Nestled in the picturesque, mountainous region of Caranavi, Bolivia, lies the heart of a coffee renaissance led by the now famous Rodriguez family. We had the privilege of visiting them and from the moment we arrived, their passion and dedication was clear. Every word spoken emanated a deep-rooted commitment to improving both the quality and the sustainabiltiy of not only their own farms, but also the entire community. Something that has been burning here for over 3 decades.
Pedro Rodriguez, now alongside his children Daniela and Pedro Pablo, began his coffee journey back in 1986, working with small producers in Caranavi by building a wet mill to process their coffee and organise export. He also began consulting on quality and began to process small micro-lots from single producers, instead of just blending them to make communal lots.
By the mid 2000's, coffee production in Bolivia was steadily declining. In 2012, alongside constant competition from coca production, coffee leaf rust started to obliterate the production in many small farms. Pedro and his family decided to invest in their own plantations, fearing that coffee production in Bolivia would disappear completely. This, they recognised, was critical in order to guarantee a minimum level of supply and thus ensure the future sustainability of their business. They acquired land in Caranavi, near their original Buena Vista mill, and created their first farm, Finca La Linda. “This is where the dream started,” says Pedro.
La Linda became the 'model' farm for building and designing their model for sustainable agriculture. It was also the birthplace of their 'Sol de Mañana' program, which came about in 2014 when, after the quick success of Pedro's farm, some neighbouring farmers came to him and asked for help. Through this program, the Rodriguez family share their knowledge and expertise, with everything from agricultural support to quality control to export, helping locals to produce high quality coffee in a sustainable way.
“We realized that we had a certain responsibility in not only managing our own farms, but also helping the producers that had been delivering coffee to us for many years. As a family, we saw the responsibility to work against this trend and save Bolivian coffee culture, because if we did not take it, Bolivian coffee would have slowly disappeared. We see this as a duty we owe to Bolivia.” The program works as a kind of 'school for producers' and now reaches over 100 small holder farmers in Caranavi.
Unlike other coffee-producing countries like Colombia or Guatemala, Bolivia lacks a strong centralised Government body that heavily supports and promotes coffee production. The Rogriguez family have unofficially filled that role, helping hundreds of small farmers and employing dozens more workers across their 12 farms and export company, Agricafe. They have also become the face of Bolivian specialty coffee and have helped to market it for what it is: a high-quality, rare, and truly special product.
This we are certainly thankful for, as Bolivia has some of the most immaculate coffee-growing conditions imaginable, as well as the potential for producing truly world-class coffee.
