Cundinamarca Vianí

Vianí is a municipality located in Cundinamarca department in a region called Central Magdalena Province given that Magdalena river (which is the principal river of Colombia) runs through this area. The territory used to be occupied by the indigenous tribe “Buitimas” in the pre-Columbian period. It has been said that the name Vianí comes from the language of this tribe meaning “golden summit”.

Vianí enjoys a favorable location because it has all the thermal floors: warm, temperate and cold, which offers great possibilities in terms of agricultural production diversification and of land use in general.

Cundinamarca comes from the terms kuntur, kundur, cundur or condor of Quechua language, all of which refer to the Andean Condor. The suffix “marca” means region in the same Quechua language. The department is located in the eastern Andean mountain range that penetrates by the south forming the complex of Sumapaz and Cruz de Verde Paramos; it presents high plateaus, valleys and planes that correspond to Magdalena Valley and to some part of Llanos Orientales.

Due to the many microclimates and changing weather patterns, there is often fresh coffee cropping throughout the year, though generally this is split across the main and mitaca (or ‘fly’) crops. Global warming has seen a significant change across Colombia, bringing challenges to some areas and opportunities to others. Earthquakes and landslides have featured in the coffee areas, but the commitment to quality there remains high.

Producer: Racafe & CIA. S.C.A.

Racafe, one of Colombia’s leading exporters of specialty coffee, began life in 1932 when the Espinosa brothers started their first business initiative renting bicycles – by 1953 the attention had turned to coffee, and the company rapidly grew to have milling operations in 9 cities across Colombia. Today it remains a family business, albeit a substantial one – and in 2008 Racafe won the SCAA Roasters Guild Coffee of the Year Award.

Their commitment to quality coffee is matched only by their solidarity with producers in the regions they work to create a truly sustainable marketing approach. In their words  “We believe in building a better country through leading by example, respecting the law and transmitting to our families the importance of being a good citizen. We promote environmental management and building community by means of open and respectful communications.”

You can keep up to date with the sustainability efforts Racafe undertake through their published yearly sustainability report.