Colombia Cardamom Project Part 2.

Cardamom  is becoming one of the most relevant sources of income for many farmers in colombia, who are trying to come up with solutions to the declining prices of coffee and the lack of a sustainable agricultural industry in our country.

Who better than the farmers themselves to explain us their experiences from within.

Below there's a transcript from the conversation between Antonio Saenz, a Colombian Cardamom producer and Jaime Munera. an Empresario and exporter of Cardamom to the United States. whom along with Alonso Munera is championing the resurgence of the cultivation of cardamom in Antioquia.

Jaime:
Antonio I see that your cardamom plants, the newborns are right next to  the coffee plants.

Antonio:
This knowledge was given to me from a young Coffee producer, his name is Nelson Ibarra. I told him that I wanted to knock down the coffee plants but he persuaded me from doing this explaining that coffee plants will serve as a source of shadow, and will provide shelter for the cardamom plant while it grows and sticks to the ground, I believe it has proved to be the right thing to do.  and at the same time I have been able to grow both coffee and cardamom . which is also a very sound Idea speaking in profitability terms.

Jaime:
It is quite a good strategy indeed,  having a cardamom plantation along with coffee. when the cardamom is growing, in the meantime  you can start harvesting the coffee beans.

Antonio: 
You do have a point, however,  I've decided to focus my entire efforts on the cultivation of Cardamom.

Jaime:
Why is that?

Antonio:
Coffee never gave me the possibility of getting out of debt, it was a vicious circle.  last year I had to refinance a Million pesos on the bank due to the low prices on the coffee, thank God, I had a nice cardamom crop which gave me the opportunity to pay back the million pesos to the bank and on top of that I made a profit of over one million two hundred pesos, something that never happened to me with the coffee.

Jaime: 
That's great news antonio. so, we move along to see the grown up cardamom plants.

Antonio:
Yes, as you can see there's a lot of trees and shadow, one of the most important things for cardamom to grow properly.

Part III Coming Next Week.

Colombian farmers find in Cardamom a way to diversify their crops

Cardamom Plantations in Valparaiso, Colombia

Valparaiso, Located in the southwest of Antioquia, is a town known mostly for its coffee plantations, Over the years it has become the epicenter for cardamom plantations in colombia due to its climate and fertile lands. and its been a blessing for the farmers, first of all, cardamom is one of the most prized spices in the market, as you have read in our website. it has helped the farmers to diversify their crop, making them less dependent on the coffee plantations and thus, providing a more stable income for the community.

Cardamom plants, approximate age of 6 months

Very few people know that Cardamom has been grown in Colombia for more than thirty five years, however, lack of demand and Guatemala's large scale production gave way for coffee to reclaim its ground and take over the few cardamom plantations that were mostly located around the Quindio, Nariño, Antioquia regions.

Alonso, Manager of the Cooperative Farmers project talking to Cardamom growers

About ten years ago cardamom buyers from arab countries came to Colombia looking for cardamom once again, and they asked Alonso Munera, a business man whose past endeavors were focused on the fragrance sector and the fresh fruit market , he knew cardamom from his fragrance background and saw the opportunity to get into the spice market, without thinking it twice, he started along with many farmers what is today the Cooperative of valparaiso.