From Semilla's notes:

"It’s how Wilmer has faced the challenges in his life that really shows the character of this young man. About eight years ago when Wilmer was only 20, his family decided they had to abandon their farm due to the debts they had incurred after the unfortunate passing of Wilmer’s father. When his mother and sister moved to the nearby city of Pitalito, Wilmer took this as an inspiration to overcome. He set to work, and within 3 years he had recuperated the farm and paid back almost the entirety of the debts that the family owed. 

In a bizarre twist, his family then returned to the farm with the request that he return the farm to their possession despite their having abandoned it. Despite all the work he put in, Wilmer accepted this and instead chose to take on more debts - this time personally - so he could purchase a 3-hectare lot just a few hundred meters from the family farm.

However, this farm was basically a raw mountain jungle, covered in thick trees and vegetation. Over the course of the next four years, Wilmer would spend his days collecting cherries on other farms nearby and return to his farm in the evenings to work. In a single six-month period, he cleared the entire three hectares - alone - with nothing but a weed whacker and machete. With the help of a few labourers, he planted the three hectares with 3000 trees of San Bernardo, 1700 trees of Pink Bourbon, and 2000 trees of Tabi.

We always know that coffee production is something incredibly physically demanding, but standing in the middle of his farm on the edge of a steep mountain canyon and listening to Wilmer as he told us his story was incredibly moving. Despite all his challenges, even one of which would make most of us quit, he continues on without any resentment or anger towards his situation.

As further evidence of his vision and motivation, in the months between receiving his payment for this coffee and our visiting him in November 2021, he had already built his own beneficio (as he was using his family’s beneficio) and paid to install electricity on his farm so that he could work at night.

In 2024, Wilmer has continued to invest and grow. He has been able to now purchase back the family farm and connect it to his current farm and has continued to invest in equipment and housing on the farm. His family has returned to the farm and now lives together with him. 

For his next investment, Wilmer plans to install a motor-powered cable so that he can move his cherries between the farm and his beneficio with more ease — another example of the incredible vision this young man possesses. Aside from that, he’s been able to invest in himself and can be seen buzzing around the mountains on a nice new motorbike."