Peru Chirinos Cordillera Andina

From the very heights of Cordillera Andina, Neftali watches the never-ending landscape, and between its healthy and well nourished trees, Neftalí Santos works every day, happily. “Every day, I choose coffee,” he shares, “and it gives me so much satisfaction to offer it to the world.” Raised by his grandparents in a coffee estate, it was not until after he lost them that his commitment to coffee became solid, like a rock. “There was no one else willing to take on the responsibility” he says.

The father of two is managing a fully agroecological estate, and thanks to his long friendship with Eber, he’s been fully invested in specialty coffee since 2016. “I really trusted Eber, and when, one day, he showed up in my house and offered to buy my entire production, I became a Churupampa member.” Later on, thanks to his long friendship and partnership with Eber, he quickly found himself fully invested in the project.

When Eber Toco returned to Churupampa after learning about coffee in other regions, he already had a clear vision of his goal. One day, he would make the Chrupampa region an exemplary model of agroecology and circular agronomy. One day, farmers would stop seeking better opportunities in the city or the coast. He would create self-sufficient estates and promote sustainable agronomic practices.

As a boy, Eber and his family lived in a 3 by 3 house, with two beds for 4 brothers and an outside kitchen made of sticks. In most seasons, his father would come out in debt, and to pay this debt, he would travel to the city during the off-season. So, when Eber returned home with new and experimental ideas, his father wondered how something like this could work?

Most of his brothers were scattered throughout the country then, some on the coast, some in the city, working low-paying jobs and long hours. One by one, Eber called them and asked them to return. His father, however, took a lot of convincing. Eventually, he agreed to start a pilot project with his sons, so for this first season, they sold 40 bags. Thanks to their acute business mentality, they always reinvested their money and grew exponentially.

Today, the Tocto family’s achievement is a national example of how entrepreneurship, respect for local farming traditions, circular thinking, and direct roaster relations can completely change rural livelihoods. Since 2011, the coffee farming community in Chirinos has done away with the subsistence coffee farming mentality and steadily created a strong, quality-focused brand: their innovative processing and independent quality control lab ensure that they can make beautiful coffees that are sought-after yearly by the specialty market – up to now mainly in the US.