
Gone Bean Picking! – Harvesting off Colombia’s beaten (coffee) path
Rugged and lush mountain ranges, wild rivers, waterfalls, lofty villages with great views and some fine hiking trails: the Andean foothills are a mystical world of its own. Temperatures are more moderate than in the plains, enabling the cultivation of those rich Arabica beans Colombia is famous for. For a day we rolled up our sleeves and lent a hand to a local coffee farming family, as they were short on workers. (The perfect excuse for us to try our hand at bean picking)
The Andes just before reaching the endless plains: tropical and less intimidating than in the cold highlands of Colombia
Close to the border of the two Colombian departments of Casanare and Boyacá the Andes slowly roll down and stretch out flat in what is known as Colombia’s Llanos, infinite vast prairies that lead all the way through into Venezuela. But just before the horizon is glued to plains, there is a mystical, underrated and very much overlooked part of Colombia: The Eastern Andean foothills.
“This is where we’ll be going”, Andrés points to a forest area that is nestled into green hills above a massive bare rock wall. As some of us in the car glance at the steep wall for a moment of disbelief, it already disappears from sight as we enter the forest next to Rio Cravo Sur, crossing the torrential river that makes its way from the Colombian highlands to the lowlands, eventually reaching the Orinoco.
A few days ago at the farmers’ market we met a local family of coffee farmers we’ve known for some time and learnt that two family members are hospitalized in Bogota. Doña Maritza, a shirt-sleeved and autarkic farmer in her late forties, has left her coffee business behind during harvesting time to be with her family in Bogota. One of her nine sisters is in charge of the harvest now and short of labourers. For us this was the perfect excuse to go bean-picking.
“The smell of monkeys penetrates the forest, colorful butterflies are fluttering around and a small makeshift shrine does homage to the Virgin Mary.”
And so here we are, slowly making our way up through dense tropical forest, grabbing one rope after another. Makeshift ropes the coffee farmers have installed that help us get past the steep rock wall in a long curve through a line of lush forest. At every clearing we catch our breath and glance behind. Rio Cravo Sur now merely a silvery line making its way to the plains, the plains’ infinity as shown between the two green mountain ranges that frame the river valley, all leave us in awe. The steep climb has elevated us fast allowing for long and spectacular views after only a fifteen minute climb. The smell of monkeys penetrates the forest, colorful butterflies are fluttering around and a small makeshift shrine does homage to the Virgin Mary.
We reach the rolling hills at the top and now only have the forest area before the farm to cross, no more steep climbs, and time for a moment to catch our breath and take it all in.
At the small coffee farm Doña Carmensa, the lady in charge, shows a big smile when she sees us and immediately orders a worker to bring us some “guarapo”, fermented sugar cane juice, to recharge our batteries. Describing our ascend we throw in a few adjectives: “espectacular” (spectacular), “durito” (somewhat tough), “hermoso” (pretty). Carmensa laughs, “I climb here almost every day. I don’t feel tired of it anymore.” The fifty two year old, who lives in the village below, is a contagiously happy woman, the kind of person that, it seems, no matter what, will always maintain a positive attitude. We keep chatting as we make our way to the coffee crops with our buckets. And so the picking begins.
“In traditional coffee cultivation the crops are integral to the forest and grow together with other tree species and plants, making them less prone to pests.”
Unsurprisingly, Doña Carmensa is the first to have filled her bucket. We just spend too much time picking the right coffee berries, hesitantly and ambitious to only pick the ripest and reddest. Carmensa giggles, “just grab a branch like this”, she grabs a branch of mainly red berries, “and strip them off”, she strips the berries off and they fall into the bucket. “That’s it!” We follow suit. Stripping off one branch of ripe berries after another, focusing on our task without over-thinking it, soon leaves us in a state of meditation. “This is therapeutic”, notes our visitor. Lisa is staying at Villa Pepita and was keen to join us for a day of harvesting coffee.
Once we all have more or less filled our buckets, we go over to the rustic wooden farm house to wash the berries. I want to know if the crops are ever sprayed with insecticides. “No no”, assures Carmensa. “We are too small. We don’t use any chemicals.” She explains that there is no need to spray the crops. Indeed, in traditional coffee cultivation the crops are integral to the forest and grow together with other tree species and plants, making them less prone to pests. On a previous visit – when not coffee picking but only visiting – Doña Martiza had proudly shown us her native woodlands and forests. “I keep the forest wild over there”, she had said and pointed at acres of dense woodlands, “it’s where the monkeys live and I like it this way.” Her coffee crops alternate with banana plants, plantains, cassava, guava trees and a whole range of wild trees and bush.
“We don’t have any problems with insects here. Perhaps it’s too cold for them”, Carmensa giggles. The temperature on about 800 meters above sea level is refreshingly moderate when one arrives from the mercilessly hot plains that surround Casanare’s capital Yopal. A constant breeze sweeps the lush mountain ranges and brings regular showers. When we sit down to rest after the harvest and a hearty lunch in the shade of a large banana plant, cross-legged and quiet, watching the clouds roll over the mountain tops, a rainbow spans from “El Arco”, a massive arch-like formed mountain, across the river valley.
Behind the simple rustic house coffee beans are drying in the sun. As the rolling dark clouds threat to open for a downpour, we rush to collect them and then hurry up to make our own way back down into the valley before night falls. We have only made it about a quarter of the descend as the heavens open their floodgates. Carmensa breaks into laughter again and opens her thick and wavy black hair. It covers her back like an impermeable rain cape as we, Andrés, our visitor, Carmensa, her worker and me, half run, half jump, half balance over a steep dirt trek to reach the valley and sheltering car. The downpour passes quickly and we pose for a final photo at Rio Cravo Sur, that accompanying silver line that connects the Andes with the Llanos.
When to visit?
Coffee harvest is in September and October. But even outside of harvesting time it’s worthwhile to visit the crops, do the hike and marvel at the scenery and, of course, meet jolly Doña Maritza and Doña Carmensa.
About the tour
The starting point of the hike is located about 30-40 minutes from Yopal, Casanare. The tour supports the farmer family. It’s one of our community oriented tours that benefit both locals and visitors, as they provide authentic glimpses into local life. >Learn more about the tour
About the coffee
Doña Maritza’s coffee brand is called “Café de la Peña”, a dark-roast blend, it’s organic and naturally free from additives. (It’s also served at Villa Pepita!)
Peña is the area’s name, known for the “Virgin de la Peña”, literally the “virgin of the rock”, who allegedly has been reported to appear on a rock above Rio Cravo Sur.
Whether you would like to do this tour, have any comments or questions or would like to purchase a wonderfully aromatic package of local coffee from Doña Maritza, please do not hesitate to contact us.