There is so much to say about my short but intense visit to the farmers of Finca Churupampa in Chirinos, a small village high in the Peruvian jungle. If I should try to describe it with one word it would be “fairytale”. These farmers are living the regenerative dream and working on developing and improving themselves further and further. The farms I visited were very advanced in their circular and regenerative practices. I saw multiple trees, fruit crops and cover crops growing on the farms. Finca Churupampa themselves have a vegetable garden and some livestock, which made going to a market superfluous. They are teaching farmers to make their own organic compost to enrich and protect the soils and they work on reforestation on and besides the coffee plantations. Important aspects to improve coffee quality but also very necessary to be able to deal with the increasing heavy rain that can damage the cherry and sometimes can make the farm inaccessible, due to the steep slopes. In summer, they are experiencing longer periods of drought. According to Eber Tocto Bermeo, the founder of Finca Churupampa, there is one solution to mitigate these effects, planting trees. To increase this movement, the family enterprise is investing a lot in education.
“I was very impressed by the drive of Eber, whose main mission is to find the best possible solutions that benefit farmers and increase sustainable practices to improve coffee quality.”
The enterprise was founded in 2014 and doubled its volume in the last two years to 60 thousand quintiles. The farm is financing nurseries for native trees to plant on the coffee farms, they invest in improved drying facilities, and help with transportation of the coffee from the farms. They collaborate a lot with research centers to optimize best sustainable practices. Wilder said: “I might not make the most profit I could make at this moment, but I believe this type of farming is best for the future and it is making me happy, and that’s the most important”.
Farmer Wilder Facundo Carhuallocllo showing the indoor drying facility he developed together with his brother. Which are much needed due to the increasing effects of climate change they are experiencing.
Finca Churupampa pays great interest in investing in their technical team, who form the cornerstone of the enterprise. They support farmers in best practices, advising on the best plants to use for diversification strategies on the coffee plots, applying organic practices and optimizing quality and processing
“Currently 30% of Churupampa’s coffee production is for the specialty segment, which is all being exported to international markets. 70% of all Churupampa farmers currently have 1-2ha of agroforestry, the other 30% is in development.”
Eber’s dream is to become fully regenerative and circular. “This will improve our livelihoods. I want to invest what we earn in improving and developing the company and our farm, in a way that will benefit us in the future, instead of buying a new television or a house in the city”. For this year he has the objective to plant 100.000 trees in the area, and scale this up in the coming years.