"Coffee is a real opportunity—when growers lead the way".
Absalón Castro has spent his life in coffee. Not as a trend. As a craft.
He began in 1985, working with coffee cooperatives—traveling between towns, buying, transporting, and learning coffee from every angle. For a time, he stepped away. And like many who truly belong to this land, he came back.
Today, Absalón doesn’t speak from theory. He speaks from experience. From witnessing how one of Colombia’s most productive coffee regions can still lack infrastructure, technology, and fair representation for the people who grow the coffee.
Even so, he chose to stay. To keep going. And to do it better.
Absalón believes in honest work, in quality as a long-term path, and in coffee as a real opportunity—not just for himself, but for his community.
VILLA ARANZA
Villaranza is a one-hectare farm in Pitalito, Huila.
Simple. Thoughtfully cared for. Purpose-driven.
Here, Absalón grows close to 4,000 coffee trees, with more than 3,000 currently producing. It’s a small farm, but a deeply meaningful one—the place where he decided to process his own coffee and take back control of quality.
Villaranza is more than a farm. It’s a place of calm, focus, and pride.
Here, Absalón tends every coffee tree with the understanding that quality doesn’t begin at the market—it begins on the farm. Processing his own coffee has allowed him to better understand his product, improve its profile, and feel genuine satisfaction when others recognize his work.
This is coffee shaped by intention.
This is what happens when the grower leads again.
What changes when the grower truly matters
For years, Absalón watched coffee leave his region for the world, while little value returned in the form of infrastructure, training, or economic stability. The coffee moved on. The growers were left behind.
With Unchained, change begins with something fundamental:
recognizing the value of the grower and their knowledge.
Today, Absalón:
Processes his own coffee
Works to sell dried parchment coffee to achieve fairer returns
Is planning a micro wet mill to improve quality and serve as a learning space for other growers
Sees coffee not only as a means of survival, but as a future
The impact isn’t instant or promised overnight. It’s gradual. Real. Sustainable.
The Unchained model allows Absalón to imagine something that once felt out of reach: a system where coffee finally gives back to the people who grow it.
When growers gain control, knowledge, and direct access to the market, coffee changes.
Unchained is a call to change the game. Join our list to get the stories behind the coffees, the people redefining the chain, and the drops that move this movement forward. Honest updates. Real impact.
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