Colombia Suyusama Program

Story

“Suyusama” is the Quechua word for "beautiful place"; the language of the Indigenous Peoples of the Central Andes in South America. The Suyusama project embodies the idea that sustainability is not just an ethical concept, but instead a necessity to live both humbly and harmoniously with the world by Educating, Empowering and promotion of participatory practices to local Campesinos and communities alike. Currently, the project has about 900 farmers involved.

We have seen this project develop into incredible coffee through the process of experimentation and fine-tuning methods.

In 2012, leadership fell to Padre José Alejandro Aguilar Posada. With an education from Colombia, Brazil, Congo, and the United States, Padre Joe has extensive knowledge and experience in agro-ecology, sustainability, rural development, regional sustainability, and eco-theology. Throughout his life and travels, he has been deeply involved in sustainable agricultural development and rural economics.

Padre Joe invites farmers from around the region to participate in the Suyasama Project. Farmers are educated in methods of organic agriculture, coffee processing and understanding the value of their crop. Campesinos are then empowered by the wealth and spread of farming techniques.

"Sustainability, as an ethical and conceptual horizon, goes beyond a development strategy. It is, above all, an option to learn about life and the world. The main objective of the learning we want to carry out in the SUYUSAMA Regional Sustainability Program should help us establish harmonious relationships between human beings and nature, while we carry out our deepest dreams and overcome the main challenges and challenges of the present."

P. José Alejandro Aguilar, S.J.