Barista Magazine

AUG-SEP 2015

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much information. The education was the key." Asked if she wanted to see her three children follow her into cof- fee farming, she responds immediately: "Of course I do. That is the heritage I can leave to them." It may seem like an obvious answer to an obvious question, but in fact, of the many times I've asked it, the most common response is a resounding, "No." Coffee farming is too difficult with too much uncertainty embedded in it to make it a compelling future for one's own children. Most frequently, farmers tell me that they would like their children to move to the city where they might find more oppor- tunity. Perhaps some of Silvia's response was triggered not just by her winning the ABC competition, but also the fact that just after we arrived at the farm, her children left. They were on their way to another important initiative of AOSC: the New Generation Coffee Camp (NGC). Like the ABC competition, the NGC is in its third year. One thousand young coffee farmers and would-be farmers come together to learn about coffee, make connections, and build their community. Held at a sprawling local water park in San Jerónimo, the campers at NCG sleep in six-person tents pitched on soccer fields, volleyball courts, and throughout the grounds as they take three days of classes on everything coffee—from the farm level all the way through processing, exporting, roasting, and barista skills. This year, the campers were hit with torrential downpours two out of three nights, but nothing the sky threw at them seemed to dampen their spirits. Like other parts of Colombia, Antioquia has been rocked by violence in its recent history. In the northern areas of the massive department (Antioquia is larger than Costa Rica), narco traffickers, FARC guerrillas, and armed paramilitary groups have fought for territory and wreaked havoc on many communities. The NGC not only hopes to train young coffee farmers to grow better coffees, but it also looks to give those young people, through coffee, an alterna- tive to violence. "We're going to bet on coffee again," says Governor Fajardo. "We know that we have to go for specialty coffee, and we are going to produce the best coffees in the world. We have many years where people didn't want to stay in the country. [But the reaction to the efforts by the Antioquia government] has been marvelous. We have built hope. They see there is a path." At the NGC, it feels like there's nothing but hope. All of the most recent attendees have been to at least one camp beforehand, so this year they can go a little deeper into different aspects of coffee production. They have classes exploring diverse process- ing methods and fermentation times. Instructor Josemaria Ruiz, who is part of Allegro Coffee's green-buying team, divides his students into farmers, exporters, importers, roasters, and attor- neys. "Everyone hates the exporter and importer, until you find out what they do," he says. He tasks his students with matching the demands of the roaster with the products of the farmer, and reviews the steps necessary to get the coffee from Colombia to a roaster in another country. The campers take classes on social media and brand building. They have tablet computers with built-in Excel spreadsheets so they can track their farms' expenses versus income, and build forecasts and budgets for the coming year. They have roasting demonstra- tions, and they get hands-on training on espresso machines and different filter brew methods. Perhaps most importantly, they learn how to cup. Many coffee farmers throughout the world do not drink coffee, nor do they ever 34 barista magazine

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