More than a thousand people from the municipalities of Los Andes, El Peñol and La Llanada, received training, technical support and provision of machinery and supplies to begin their work as coffee farmers.

The project to turn victims of armed conflict into coffee farmers, thousands of survivors of armed conflict in Los Andes, El Peñol and La Llanada in Nariño, which was led by the Victims’ Unit and the municipalities of the three municipalities, culminated in a day of integration between participants.

Antonio Javier Ortiz, inhabitant of the village of Torrecilla in the municipality of El Peñol, indicated that with the training, he was able to modernize his crop and learned how to produce quality coffee. In addition, his plot has a variety of products that allow food safety.

"We have had a big change with this Unit program; They taught us how to be good coffee farmers, control pests and harvest and dry coffee, but what has served us the most is the work with the psychologist, which allowed us to be new people; It is not easy to forget what happened to us, but with workshops and work we already think differently, giving thanks to God have changed things and we are going to get ahead with coffee, "said Ortiz.

He and 250 other families benefited from the project 'Strengthening income generation, food security and psychosocial accompaniment to the population victim of armed conflict in the municipalities of Los Andes, El Peñol and La Llanada in Nariño department'.

The investment in these three municipalities amounted to $ 2,000 million, of which the Victims Unit contributed a total of $ 1,750 million.

The project contemplated, for each family, the provision of coffee pulping machines, the construction of optimal laundry and drying facilities for the post-harvest of grain, the training and technical support to the producers, but also the emotional repair of the participants and their families.

Jaime Santander, a professional from the Directorate of Interinstitutional Management of Victims Unit in Nariño, said that the project was carried out as part of the Territorial Projects for Life and Reconciliation strategy. The 250 beneficiary families in each municipality group more than 1000 people who suffered the impact of conflict.

"We finished satisfactorily in a day of closure and integration of the beneficiary families, who also shared their experiences during the development of project," said the professional.

The mayor of the municipality of Los Andes, thanked the Victims’ Unit for the investment in this project and indicated that the beneficiary families want to dedicate themselves to licit crops, since after the eradication processes of coca cultivation, they had not had an effective support.

"This reparation process strengthens the productive chain, allows dignified work for families, it is very important to use technology and knowledge because in this land high quality coffees are produced," he said.

The project grouped 150 families in the municipality of Los Andes, 50 in La Llanada and 50 in El Peñol. The three municipalities are agricultural and have volcanic soils with optimum characteristics for production of special coffees, which have high international demand.