Organic Dried
Banana
The Tolima department is part of the Andean region, located in the centre-west of the country. It's split by the Magdalena River and counts with two mountainous regions - the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental - and the valleys of the rivers Magdalena and Saldaña. At the foothills of the Cordillera Central our farmers grow their organic bananas between a 1,100 m to 1,800 m above sea level. The region's capital, Ibagué, is known as the musical city of Colombia, testimony to the rich musical heritage of the region.
Community
Orlando
Rodriguez
Orlando is the leader of the newly-formed organization of organic banana producers Orgánicos de la Cordillera. He's been growing banana for over ten years and has made banana growing a family business, involving his brothers Freddy, Francisco, and Dioscar.
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The association of organic banana farmers Orgánicos de la Cordillera counts with 14.5 hectares of certified organic soil. There are 6 small-scale farmers and a total of 38 families involved. The majority of members also grow coffee with their banana crops and some even win coffee competitions with their creations.
One banana bunch weighs about 40 kg, so harvesting is quite the workout! Typically, one person cuts the plant while a second person receives the bunch on their shoulders.
Banana is grown and harvested year round and transported every week via Jeep to our facility in Ibagué. The harvesting is done when the bananas are still a bit green, so the fruit is at its perfect ripening stage when it reaches our processing plant.
Once at the plant, the bananas are carefully selected, washed, peeled, and sliced by the capable hands of our plant staff. It is then dehydrated, cooled, and packaged. In average, there are 3.5 fresh bananas in 100 g of dried fruit. Nothing is added in the process but a genuine care for what we do.
