Civil war and drug trafficking tore Colombian communities apart. For over 50-years, people in Cauca and Antioquia made a living through growing coca; the base ingredient for cocaine. It paid but brought a lot of unrest and violence to the regions for decades.

Then, in 2016, the Colombian government and the Farc announced a ceasefire; the first step towards peace after a 52-year conflict that left 220.000 people deceased and 6-million displaced. But besides ongoing peace-negotiations, specialty coffee is laying the groundwork for peace because it pays.

Coffee for Peace

One of the peace initiatives in Colombia is Coffee for Peace; an alliance of coffee farmers, exporter/importers, and roasters. Coffee for Peace aims to develop and promote traceable coffees from historic conflict zones in Colombia, like Cauca and Antioquia.

Coffee for Peace organizes the Best of Cauca and Best of Antioquia auctions that stimulate growers to invest in coffee. A local jury cups each lot, choosing the top 40 lots. From there an international jury cups the 40 lots and selects the top 20 coffees for the auction.