Kogi coffee

The Kogi are one of the remaining indigenous peoples living in the Colombian rainforest of South America. They live in harmony with nature, eating what they grow on their land or what the forest has to offer, and their houses and clothing are made entirely from natural materials. Through their understanding and cultural heritage, they have recognized their role as guardians and healers of Mother Earth and are aware of the importance of their task, especially in today's world. However, since the discovery of Columbus and the occupation by colonial rulers, they have lost many of their sacred ritual sites and thus lack the foundation to fulfill their task. Their motivation behind the coffee trade is not a desire to change their society or way of life to follow the Western model, but rather to buy back these important places so that they can maintain their lives in the old culture.

Although the coffee plant is not native to South America, it now often grows wild in the forests. The Kogi harvest their beans only from such wild plants and cultivate them without interfering with nature. They therefore deliberately refrain from using fertilizers or growing higher-yielding varieties. The Kogi do not approve of the way nature is treated in our part of the world. In their view, we have failed to understand the natural world in which they have lived for so long. Although they would easily meet all the criteria for organic or fair trade certification, they do not value our certificates and choose not to obtain them.

The “kalashe” project was born out of a meeting between Kogi chief Màma José Gabriel Limaco and Oliver Driver. For the 2015–2016 harvest, the Kogi were paid nearly double the current market price for coffee, which is significantly higher than fair trade standards. In addition, the Kogi receive a 20% share of the profits from the German company Urwaldkaffee .

We would like to conclude this article with the following quote from Oliver Driver:"No one should buy CAFÉ KOGI to help poor Indians. The Kogi are very rich, even if they do without many material things. The coffee speaks for itself—by drinking it and treating yourself to something good, you are also doing something for the Kogi."

More information at:www.urwaldkaffe.de