Fredi & Jaimie Ortega

By the age of 15, Fredi began to work side by side with his parents with the shared goal of achieving economic prosperity for their family. After three years of working this way, when he arrived at the age of 18, his father Isidro Ortega set aside a lot of 500 Caturra trees for Fredi to manage on his own. Taken by the romance of coffee and the stories of the travelling coffee pickers, he set off to nearby hamlets like Teruel and Pital looking to learn more about coffee and gain more experience. However, he often felt out of place and not comfortable away from home, and so he soon returned home where life developed well for him.

At the age of 20, his father gave him another small parcel, this time where he would have to plant and grow his own 1,200 Caturra trees from scratch. He worked hard here, motivated and passionate to create something for himself through coffee. Six years later, Isidro shared with him one final parcel, which is what makes up the 1 hectare farm Fredi manages today, El Bosquecito (The Little Forest).