Colombia -Region：Cauca-Caldono

Caldono is located in the northern part of Cauca department in southwest Colombia. The landscape rises and falls with the Western Andes, with layers of hills and valleys spreading across the western slopes. The climate is mild with pronounced differences between day and night, creating ideal conditions for coffee trees to ripen slowly in a misty, cloud-covered environment. Rivers flow down from the highlands, providing a steady water supply for farms and shaping a mosaic of complex microclimates.

The area is predominantly home to Indigenous communities, especially the Nasa and Yanacona peoples. Many families have worked the land for generations, relying on small family plots for their livelihood. A lot of farmers produce their own organic fertiliser and grow coffee under shade trees, preserving forest cover so that coffee plants can grow under a kind of natural umbrella. Some communities have formed cooperatives and associations, such as ASPROLE and CENCOIC, to share processing facilities, quality control and export channels, giving smallholders access to the specialty coffee market.

In recent years, Caldono has also become a focus area for sustainable development and poverty-alleviation projects. The region is known not only for high-quality coffee but also for its struggles with post-conflict reconstruction, poverty and the out-migration of young people. As a result, improving coffee quality and farmer income is seen as a crucial pathway for rebuilding communities and protecting the land. Many initiatives centre on coffee towns such as Caldono, Piendamó and Santander de Quilichao, working through training, risk management and environmental protection to make coffee a genuine pillar of local recovery.