On a Friday night around 9 pm, Santos and two of his advisors arrived to our Hotel in Colombia. The meeting had been arranged before hand from Vancouver. The Kogis had requested to meet with us. The subject: Coffee. Despite the long day and the late time at night- we gave full priority to this meeting. Santos had just flown in from Santa Marta.

The Kogis live in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta- which is the highest Coastal Mountain range in the world. On this mountain there are four indigenous groups that live there: Kankuamo. Arhuacos, Wiwa and Kogis.  Latin Organics at present is doing business with the Arhuacos and with the Kankuamos. The Kogis are the tribe that have had the least contact with non indigenous people. They believe that we are the Little Brothers and they are the Big Brothers-similar to what the Arhuacos believe. We spoke until 2 am in the morning.  I had difficulty understanding Santos as his Spanish was a bit broken. But with time I was able to understand what he was passing on to me in regards to information.

Santos was sent to meet with Latin Organics by the spiritual leaders or wise men with in their tribe. The Kogis want Latin Organics to buy all their organic coffee. They do not wish to work with anyone else, as they have tried this already in the past. Their goal is to use the funds that they collect from their coffee business to recover all the land that is being occupied by non indigenous people- so that they may keep this Coastal Mountain sacred. The Kogis believe that if the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is kept in the hands of the Arhuacos, Wiwa, Kankuamos and Kogis- our planet Earth can be healed and saved. They believe that the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the Heart of the World.

The Kogis, as do the Arhuacos- believe that the mountains, rocks, water, soil and nature in general are sacred. They pay pagamentos o blessings/rituals to their surroundings. Within the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta- the Kogis have been observing   the physical changes that nature is going through such as less snow, less water, drought and the arrival of more diseases with in their community. They attribute this to the Little Brothers (Us) and the way we live. At present, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in some parts is being logged down to make room for a concrete construction to hold water. Talks also exist to build a Gondola to take tourists to the top. All this is an invasion to this sacred territory. While I was listening to all this, I remembered the movie that I had watched during my flight to Colombia, AVATAR. What resemblance. Can this fiction story be happening in Colombia? Yes, I was being informed of this by Santos.  So, what next?  We will have to wait and see. It is certain that Latin Organics alone cannot fix this situation- we can buy all the coffee that they produce but we are going to need for the world to buy Latin Organics organic and direct trade coffee, drink it and enjoy it like no other cup of coffee. Who is up for the challenge? Write to us and let us know how you can help. Latin Organics needs you- together we can change the world!