The Paltachayoc community (named in Quechua for the abundance of avocados that grow there) is located 40 minutes from the capital of Cusco’s Santa Teresa district.
The producers of the community intercrop their Typica, Caturra and Geisha-varietal coffee plants using native leguminous Pacay trees for shade, nitrogen fixing, and optimal moisture retention in the soil. After harvesting their coffee, they carry out fermentation in plastic barrels for approximately 15 hours and then dry the coffee in solar dryers for about 14 days, depending on weather.
This small community is made up of 50 families, most of them speakers of the native Quechua language.
The average farm size here is 2 hectares.
The majority of this community’s livelihood is dedicated to coffee and cattle raising, but tourism plays a key role here as well, due to an abundance of thermal hot springs. In addition to their health benefits to humans, these springs also nourish the land that surrounds them with important minerals that are highly beneficial in agriculture. The hot springs have also drawn in various mining companies, looking for minerals such as gold, silver, and more, which the local population has consistently opposed as a potential depredation and degradation of their lands and community.
