Suyusama Program

Suyusama: Making Southern Colombia a "Beautiful Place"

So, back in 2004, the Jesuits in Colombia kicked off this cool program called Suyusama. It started out as a joint effort with their various social centers, but it has since grown into its own independent thing. "Suyusama," by the way, is a word from the Quechua language (that's what the Indigenous folks in the Central Andes speak), and it means "beautiful place." Pretty fitting, right?

The name really nails what they're all about: sustainability isn't just some fancy idea, it's how we have to live. It means being humble, living in sync with nature, and helping communities thrive through education and getting everyone involved.

New Leadership, Bigger Vision
Things really kicked into high gear in 2012 when Padre José Alejandro Aguilar Posada, or "Padre Joe" as everyone calls him, took the reins. Padre Joe's got a ton of experience in all sorts of related fields like organic farming, rural development, and even eco-theology. He really expanded what Suyusama was doing.

Now, he invites farmers from all over the region to join the Suyusama Project. There, they learn about organic farming, how to process coffee, and the business side of their crops.

When Bird Rock Coffee Roasters and our sister company PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. entered the picture in 2015 we hoped to buy the coffee they produced. But first we needed to establish quality protocols. We were introduced to Padre Joe by a mutual friend at Finca Villa Loyola. We offered our cupping skills and knowledge of roasting to help educate farmers in the project. We believe when farmers know what quality is, they can better value their product and ask for a better more sustainable price. This is core to our Direct Trade purchasing model.

So, when Jeff and Martiza Taylor, co-owners of Bird Rock Coffee and PT’s Coffee first visited Villa Loyola we began to set up the quality protocols with Padre Joe. We contributed our cupping skills and knowledge of the roasting side of the business along with important equipment to help maintain quality via moisture control and processing. We became Suyusama’s only international buyer, and still are to this day, and also educated them on how to roast and sell their own coffee locally for a better price and boost the economy.

But it wasn’t just us sharing knowledge, these farmers also share their wisdom, technical skills and farming tricks with each other, which really builds a sense of community and empowerment. The Suyusama Project was really taking off and it’s participants were excited to get started.

As Padre Joe puts it, “sustainability isn't just a development plan. It's, above all, an option to learn about life and the world," he says. The whole point of what they're learning at Suyusama is to help people and nature live together in harmony, while also reaching their dreams and tackling today's bigger coffee producing challenges.

Growing Impact
In 2014, Suyusama officially became a non-profit. Today, they're supporting 74 small rural organizations, which means they're positively impacting 1,363 families across 14 towns in Nariño, a region in southern Colombia famous for its coffee.
Suyusama's main goal is to guide strategic projects in three key areas: money stuff (economic), nature stuff (environmental), and how organizations run (organizational development).

Boosting Rural Livelihoods
When it comes to the economy, Suyusama focuses on sustainable, small-scale coffee farming. They're all about improving crop quality, growing a variety of things, and sticking to organic farming methods. In this area, pretty much all the land is already being used, so getting more out of it means farming smarter, not bigger.

They also have a strategy for food security and sovereignty, which helps families become more financially stable while also protecting the environment.

Suyusama has even helped farmers find local places to sell their seasonal goods – think fruits, veggies, honey, herbs, and other homemade stuff – by getting them involved in eco-farmers' markets. These markets let farmers sell directly to local customers and really boost the local economy.
Oh, and they've also started some rural tourism projects to keep traditional local food culture alive and well.
One super cool initiative is their self-managed savings and credit groups, which are mostly run by women and young people. This really helps them become more financially independent and strengthens the community.

Taking Care of the Environment
Suyusama's environmental work tackles climate change prevention, how to lessen its impact, and how to adapt to it. This includes protecting tiny watersheds and water sources, supporting community water systems and tree nurseries, and setting up good systems for managing liquid and solid waste on farms.

These practices aren't just about making the environment stronger; they're about making sure rural communities have a future.

Community Power
On the community and political side, Suyusama helps local farming organizations get stronger by assisting them in creating and carrying out their own plans. They also train leaders to work effectively with public institutions, helping them contribute to town development plans and other team efforts.

Spreading the Goodness
The knowledge, methods, and experience Suyusama has built up in Nariño are now inspiring sustainability efforts in other parts of Colombia. They're even working with other non-profits, and their model has already helped an additional 167 farming families!
From its beginnings as a Jesuit idea to its current role as a major force for sustainable development in the region, Suyusama truly lives up to its name – a "beautiful place" – all thanks to its amazing people, rich land, and the values that guide it.