Helio Francisco Rico is 40 years old. He born in the municipality of Palestina (Huila). The other members of his family are his wife and 4 children. He worked originally as a bricklayer, for this reason, he traveled a lot through different regions of Colombia. After several years of this job, he saved the money to buy his farm (La Esperanza), in this place he started as a coffee grower 8 years ago. He is a leader in the community, he is also a co-founder of the Associative Group "Cafe Andino Especial" in the village of Bruselas. His main satisfaction is to serve the community, looking for the realization of different projects into the benefit of all the people. His farm is well diversified with coffee and tropical fruits.

Environmental Care

He has 1.3 Has of natural forests in the highest part of his farm. In this high altitude area of the farm are born two natural sources of fresh water. He is building now the ecologycal wet milling area. The pulp of the coffee and other wastes are treated and used as fertilizers. This farm is located next to a natural park named "La Esperanza", so he took the name of this place for his farm too.

Coffee Processing Information

Currently the wet milling process is done in the traditional way, using fresh water correctly. The pulp is transformed using the red worms into organic fertilizer. Drying process is done in patios using the "parabolic solar system". All the parchment coffee is sold through the Associative Group to the Cooperative CADEFIHUILA.

Other Statistics:
Soil Type: Franco Areno Arcilloso  
Annual Precipitation: 1,750 millimeters
Shade Grown Type: Semishade
Water Source: Natural source of fresh water
No. Permanent Employees: 1
No. Temporary Employees: 4