Finca La Gloria - Colombia

Omar Javier Serna Restrepo purchased Finca La Gloria using money from an inheritance left by his parents. He needed a home for his young family, and the farm’s 2.5 hectares of fertile land high in the hills of Andes Antioquia seemed perfect. He needed a place to make a home and to secure a future for his wife and children. La Gloria provided the answer to his dreams.

…Which isn’t to say the dreams didn’t require a bit of hard graft. When he first purchased the farm it was already known as ‘La Gloria’ and was a working coffee farm. However, the land had been somewhat ill cared for and yields were low. When Omar moved his family onto the farm, he realised there was a great deal of work to be done. He set about renewing the old plantations and doing his utmost to improve the quality of the soil and the health of his plants. Omar says that although the farm kept its old name from its previous owner, his brother told him that he had earned the name ‘La Gloria’ (Heaven) anew “because of the effort and dedication of all the work that was done to [make it into a paradise].”

Today, the small farm of under 2 hectares supports him and his wife and their four children. Profits from the harvest currently fully fund his children’s education needs, and he hopes that with increased dedication and commitment to high quality production this will continue well into the future.

All coffee on the farm is selectively harvested by hand. At the time of harvest, most picking is done by the whole family pitching in, although at peak harvest season he and his two neighbours do a labour exchange where each helps the other bring in their ripe cherries from one week to the next. At the end of the afternoon, the coffee is taken to the family’s small wet mill – located near the house at 1,500 metres above sea level. There it is sorted, pulped into a tank and fermented for around 36 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is washed in clean water and taken to the patios to dry.

After harvest season, key agricultural labours are strenuously carried out. Omar is sure to conduct regular soil analyses, which guide the application of fertilizer in January, May and August. He continues with renovation work, both using new seedlings and through stumping. Most trees are renewed every 6 years.

“Every day I try to collect the best ripe coffee beans to produce a distinct cup of coffee,” Omar says. “And so I love the customers of my coffee [who appreciate the work].”