Colombia - Organic Tolima - Dark Roast

Asociación de Productores Egológicos de Planadas (ASOPEP) is a young but successful coop in the town of Planadas in the Tolima region of Colombia. Founded in 2013 the organization now has 168 members making it the largest in Tolima. Its mission is to foster personal growth of its members, protect the environment, innovate in commercial business processes, and be the vanguard of specialty coffee producers worldwide.

The cooperative is led by Camilo Suarez, who is known for fostering the growth of business and strength of community in the Planadas area. ASOPEP has earned a strong reputation for creating high-quality coffee in its relatively short history. The organization has a diverse group of members with 30 families with women heads of household around 30% of the coop’s farmer members are between 20 and 30 years old. It has formed a youth collective that helps train young people in cupping, quality control and barista skills along with business management and education in science and technology.  It is a cooperative with complete coffee infrastructure that has control of the entire coffee chain at origin: processing, quality control, transportation and commercialization. 

ASOPEP’s dedication to quality and emphasis on education has been paying off. They are part of a small number of certified Fairtrade and Organic Coops in Colombia.