Sonia Bolaños is yet another young grower that we’re thrilled to see be able to gain recognition
for their lifetime of hard work, thanks largely to the work of our team on the ground in
Colombia, Esnaider Ortega-Gomez and Didier Ortega.
Sonia entered the world of coffee production at the young age of 14, when she finished her
school day and headed to neighbouring farms to work as a picker as her family’s financial
situation required that she lend her efforts to the household income. Over the years, as she
finished school and began to be more available for work she began to seek out farms further
away from her. Eventually, she found herself working on the family farm of Deimar Muñoz and
over time, they developed a fondness for one another that would grow into a marriage that has
brought them three children and a young grandson.
Now 37 years old, Sonia manages 3 hectares of the family farm, La Esperanza, which in total
accounts for 5.5 hectares. Slowly but surely, together they’ve worked to grow Deimar’s initial

inheritance of 2.5 hectares into a plot that now boasts Caturra, Pink Bourbon, and Castillo, the
Pink Bourbon and Castillo being the most recently planted as sadly, Caturra in San Agustin is
becoming more and more scarce due to the increasing presence of roya, even at altitudes above
1800masl.