At the end of the 80´s, challenges in the coffee production such as low market prices and adverse climate conditions led the family farm into one of the worst crisis of its history. In the midst of this difficult scenario, Mr. Hector Daza’s son, Oscar, decides to join his father to rescue the family farm and put into practice all that he learned from his family example. Thanks to the family strong bonds, the crisis was overcome and the generational leap was fulfilled. After completing his studies in coffee production at the Manuel Mejia Foundation in CENICAFE in Colombia, Oscar took the lead of the family business and started implementing the recently learned agronomical strategies that favor efficiency and promotes environmental care as differentiated value for the coffee production. As a result of this vision, in 2006 the farm enters the National Coffee Federation’s Program for coffee sustainability and acquires the Rainforest Alliance and Organic Farming certificates. With their commitment for continuous improvement, La Pradera Estate Farm is a truthful example of ecological restoration of degraded landscapes. Aiming beyond the traditional sustainability practices, the farm has been able to increase coffee production and quality while taking care of the soil, the water sources and all the people involved in the productive chain. All these persistent efforts have allowed the family business not only to administrate their own international certificates as truly regenerative coffee with the Organic Certification, the Rainforest and Bird Friendly certifications active until this day; but also to invest and consolidate the implementation of an integral quality control system that enables to fulfill the strictest international standards for coffee tasting. In 2015, Oscar Daza and his wife Mildred Muñoz started their own family project with Finca Santa Maria, which is part of the operations of Hacienda La Pradera. Finca Santa María is operated by a group of 20 women from the community of Aratoca, that have found empowerment and a sense of community through their work in coffee, and also a sustainable source of income for their families.
