ASPROTIMANA WOMENS Coffee

Producers: 25 Smallholder Women Producers (Asprotimana)

Farm: Various Smallholder Producer Farms

Bag Size: 70 Kg Grainpro

Region: Timana, Huila 

Altitude: 1,350 - 1,800 MSAL

Variety: Caturra, Castillo, Variedad Colombia

Process: Washed

Notes & INFORMATION

In the mountainous region of Huila, Colombia, coffee is more than a crop; it’s a way of life. At the heart of this thriving coffee growing region is ASPROTIMANA, the Asociación de Productores Agrícolas de Timaná. Founded in 2001 by 32 smallholder farmers, the organization began as a grassroots effort to secure better prices, improve farming practices, and uplift local communities. Over the past two decades, ASPROTIMANA has grown into a dynamic cooperative of more than 850 members across 22 villages, all united by a shared commitment to producing exceptional coffee and building a more equitable future.

Among ASPROTIMANA’s most inspiring chapters is the emergence of its Women’s Coffee Program—a bold initiative aimed at empowering female coffee producers in a traditionally male-dominated field. This collective, made up of around 50 women, doesn’t just farm coffee—they’re shaping their own economic and social destinies. With training from Colombia’s national learning service (SENA), these women have become skilled in everything from specialty coffee processing to business development.

We are constantly looking to identify ideas that promote women's empowerment in coffee, and this is a project that we can get behind. Coffee is deeply woven into the fabric and identity of Colombia. Women have always been a cornerstone for the agro-food industry in Colombia. In fact, according to the National Coffee Federation in (2021), women represent 31% of Colombian coffee producers. Thanks to this program it gives women coffee producers visibility and empowerment to have more influence and control over of their choices with what they choose to do with their coffee all while getting compensated fairly.

how does the chain of custody for coffee move and operate within the women's cooperative?

The cooperative has developed the women coffee growers program, to which currently supports more than 50 women. Working on small plots nestled between shade trees, plantains, beans, and corn, the women carefully hand-pick ripe cherries and process them using their own micro-mills. Once parchment coffee (carga) is dry, it is ready to be sold to the cooperative.

do the independent women producers handle processing of their own coffee up to parchment or do they sell whole cherries to ASPROTIMANA and ASPROTIMANA handles all milling/post harvest processing/drying up to export?

Once the parchment is dry, it is ready to be sold to the cooperative. Women go to the nearest cooperative purchasing point to deliver their coffee, if quality meets the moisture and cup profile requirements, they gain access to a differentiated premium price that is over the local market price which directly enhances the price paid for their coffee. Thus, not only does the program have a direct impact on their income and their quality of life, but also the women have the opportunity to improve and maintain infrastructure of their farms and production. Once the coffee has been delivered at the cooperative, it is physically separated and transported to the milling and warehousing facilities. From this point forward, the cooperative is in charge of milling, storing, selling and delivering the coffee to clients around the globe.

Technical Information - Processing

Since the drying process is carried out at each individual farm, the drying times used for post harvest drying varies from 15 to 25 days on average and generally depends on the micro climates and drying infrastructure at each farm. Some farms may rely on sun patios to dry their coffees where others might utilize solar drying on raised beds.

improvement and impacting lives

The Women Coffee Growers Program has two main goals: to coach women to strengthen their production management skills and to help empower them to have better control over the opportunities where they sell their coffee.

Through the Programa Mujer Cafetera, the association regularly holds lectures on issues such as productivity, quality, leadership, and women's empowerment, strengthening knowledge regarding farm management. Another added benefit of the association is that they also directly provide access to capital to their members.

REGIONAL INFORMATION

Huila, one of the most vital coffee growing regions in Colombia due to its economy, agricultural and commercial production of coffee. Huila is located in the southern portion of the country where the Central and Eastern ranges of the Andes mountains converge. Coffee being the product with the highest national production, especially of arabica that is exported to The United States, Russia, Japan and various countries around Europe. Huila’s coffee farms are predominately smallholder owned and over the past ten years have made consorted efforts to produce specialty coffee that reveals the full character of the region’s terroir. Selective manual harvesting, attentive processing, and careful post-harvest sorting all contribute to increasing recognition of the region.

Timaná is one of the oldest towns in southern Colombia, steeped in indigenous heritage and colonial history. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the region was home to the Timanaes, an indigenous group known for their fierce resistance and strong social organization. They spoke a language believed to be part of the Chibcha linguistic family, and their culture was deeply connected to the natural rhythms of the Andean landscape.

One of the most powerful historical figures associated with the region is La Gaitana, an indigenous woman and warrior leader. In the 1530s, during the early phase of the Spanish conquest, she became a symbol of indigenous resistance after the Spanish killed her son, a local chieftain. In response, she united several indigenous groups and led a rebellion against the Spanish colonizers, even defeating them in battle—a rare and significant victory at the time. Her legacy still resonates today, and she is remembered as a national heroine in Colombia.

Today, Timaná maintains a rich cultural identity that blends its Indigenous roots with colonial legacies. The region is known for its traditional music, artisan crafts, and religious festivals, as well as its agriculture, particularly coffee, bananas, corn, and beans.

Its fertile lands, high altitudes, and ideal climate make it a prime location for high-quality coffee, which has become a key driver of the local economy. Projects like ASPROTIMANA reflect how the region has continued to evolve, combining ancestral knowledge with modern cooperative models to empower local communities, especially women.