Unique history of Proyecto
Renacer
Proyecto Renacer was created in order to
improve the lives of those in the La Sierra neighborhood. Led by brothers
Cristian and Jhonatan Raigosa, Proyecto Renacer is located in the hills of the
city of Medellin in the neighborhood of La Sierra. It is composed of more than
30 coffee growers with 13 small farms (2 hectares on average) and they involve
the addiction recovery center Hogar Casa Claret.
These two brothers are the real definition of
coffee-preneurs. Cristian has emerged in the Colombian coffee scene as one of
the best roasters and baristas bringing direct knowledge of specialty coffee
consumption to the team. While Jhonatan has worked in field production,
building critical producer relations, and quality control tying together the
administration of the project
The project began when, by chance, they
received a sample of a coffee from the La Sierra neighborhood. They were
surprised to find a coffee from Medellin, this was something unusual. After
profiling and sampling the coffee, they found an extraordinary product with
some very striking attributes that made them want to contact the producer to
know more.
When they first ventured into the neighborhood
to start developing the project, they were uncertain because the sector for
decades was practically a war zone with violence and disputes of drug
trafficking. It had even been documented in a movie! Nevertheless, their passion overcame prejudice,
and they went to a meeting at La Sierra with the producer, Don Gabriel.
Once they were there, they found a totally
different panorama to the one they had in mind. In La Sierra there were more
producers than Don Gabriel with great quality coffee and surrounded by
excellent geographic conditions for coffee growing. In this way, they came up
with the idea of coordinating the coffee of all the small farms in the
neighborhood, processing it in order to add value through fermentation
processes. Thus, Proyecto Renacer could support, in a small amount, Colombian
agriculture and its low prices paid in their cooperatives. In conclusion, a positive impact for the Sierra
community.
Through these products, it creates the
opportunity to offer consumers of Medellin and the world an experience with
specialty coffees, changing their perspective of the neighborhood from the one
violence torn area to the beautiful coffee producing sector it is. Today, La
Sierra is a neighborhood where you can
travel to without any fear, and experience the remarkable tranquility that this
mountain top neighborhood offers.
Proyecto Renacer has been developing coffee for
over 6 years, in which they have really worked hard, to provide world class
fermentation protocols for extraordinary products.
