The El Puente processing facility is located in Fundador township, Palestina, Huila, Colombia. “El Puente” translates to “the bridge”, named not only for the footbridge that spans a nearby river, but more importantly representing the connection that the processing facility creates between local smallholder producers and the global specialty coffee industry. The facility is just a 20 minute drive to the coffee centers of Pitalito and downtown Palestina, and is strategically located in an area with a high density of coffee to allow easy delivery of cherries by local coffee producers.
The facility is supported by community investment in the sustainable development of rural areas and is part of a social impact project started by Clearpath Coffee in 2018 with the goal of addressing common problems faced by smallholder coffee producers in the region.
El Puente processes coffee using Honey and Natural processes. While the facility chooses not to process Washed coffees due to their lack of the water treatment equipment needed to responsibly manage wastewater, El Puente partners with producers who complete their own Washed processing in order to provide good market access and a fair price for their work. By focusing on Honey and Natural processes, the facility uses 80% less water than what would be required for Washed processing instead.
This lot of coffee underwent Natural processing. Coffee cherries are placed in a large parabolic dryer covered with shade fabric to regulate the temperature.
