Colombia's fighters become coffee farmers

Exchanging guns for coffee beans - 23rd May 2022

'Tropics – Fruits of Hope' is the name former fighters have given to their latest coffee product. It's commemorating the end of the civil war in Colombia, between rebels and the government. The coffee is planted, picked and roasted by a thousand ex-soldiers from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who laid down their weapons in 2016.

Recently, a former rebel – Antonio Pardo – has come to Britain to the annual London Coffee Festival to promote the brand's new blend, which marks the fifth anniversary of the peace agreement. The coffee growers are hopeful that 'Fruits of Hope' will match the success of their 'Spirit of Peace Ex Combatants.' This blend was recognised as the 'Best of the Best' at the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards in 2019.

Mr Pardo, who'd joined the FARC army as an 18 year old sociology student in Cali city, travelled from the Cauca region. He states that he and his fellow ex-combatants are now 100 percent committed to peace, having lived through the conflict. The struggle endured for over five decades and cost the lives of 260,000 people. "There came a point at which we recognised that the majority of people in our country wanted an end to the violence."

Around 13,000 former FARC fighters have been assisted by government programmes designed to reintegrate the men and women back into normal society. Many have now taken up roles in the production of beer and clothing, in addition to coffee.

Rather than hiding their past, they often explicitly allude to it in their product branding. One of the beers is 'La Trocha', the Spanish name for the small jungle paths used by the rebels in the conflict. The programmes' overall success has been partly due to the close involvement of local communities in the process.