Farmfolio's Pietrasanta project is catching the uprising development in Colombia

Before I heard about Farmfolio’s Ganaderia Pietrasanta projects, I didn’t know anything about Colombia except that it is a center for drug trafficking and there is a lot of violence due to the anti-government movement. I never thought about visiting Colombia because I never knew what is worth visiting there. I never read travel articles about special places in Colombia. If you just go to Colombia for beaches, in my opinion I think you can go to other countries for beaches plus something special for the lifetime. Coincidentally around the same time when I decided to visit Colombia for Farmfolio’s Pietrasanta projects, I read an article about the high quality of health care in Colombia at a fraction of the cost of the same procedure in the US. Interestingly also around this time, I got to know two people who are from Colombia and reside in Boston Massachusetts. It seems to me everything that has happened told me that I should visit Colombia. So I did. My first stop was Medellin. The city of Medellin is located in the valley among mountains. The air is so fresh up in the mountains and the temperature is just right (around 70 F, neither hot nor cold). The modern apartment/condo buildings and office buildings are everywhere. The food is so fresh because most of it comes locally without going through the distribution channels for a long period of time. My second stop was Bogota. The capital does have the favela area but also has the area with high-rise office buildings where global corporations like Samsung have operations. At the 10,341 feet high point on Monserrate, you have the whole view of Bogota beneath on a sunny day while having delicious seafood at Casa San Isidro. The Gold Museum in the city center displays so many precious gold pieces dated as far as 1600 B.C. I got to know about different regions in Colombia and the culture developed in different regions.

The visit to the Pietrasanta Farm is the highlight of the trip. I flew to Monteria from Bogota. Dax met me at Monteria airport. Then we boarded a helicopter and had a bird’s eye view of the whole farm and surrounding area. You can see wandering cattle and the hills with teak trees growing. We visited the nursery where coconut trees are just starting sprouting out of the shell of coconuts. There are neem trees growing as a natural pest barrier surrounding the nursery. I also saw papaya trees, passion fruit trees, and some other species I cannot remember the names for. The compost is made on the farm by mixing the charcoal with manure. We went through on horseback the area where the coconut trees are already planted and the teak tree forest on the hill are growing. We also looked at different area that they have built or are going to build reservoirs for efficient irrigation system throughout the farm. The cattle are leisurely grazing or resting in the shades. The farm is very idyllic. The farm manager and the staffs are very friendly. The authentic farm-to-table food is unbelievably fresh and tasty. Dax explained the whole farm operation to me in detail. It is a memorable trip for someone like me who spends most of my life in the hustle and bustle of big cities and doesn’t know much about farming.

My final stop is Cartagena with colorful colonial architecture, Spanish fortress, monasteries, and delicious seafood. The Caribbean ocean is visible from my hotel window. I even made an early morning trip to Volcan de Lodo El Totumo (El Totumo mud volcano) where I had the whole mud hole to myself.

Colombia has a lot of history, culture, and natural beauty for visitors to discover. Since the peace treaty between the government and the anti-government guerilla group was recently signed, the conflict ridden country for the past half a century can finally open doors to international visitors and investors. Farmfolio’s Pietrasanta project is just catching the uprising development in Colombia. I would definitely like to return to Colombia to explore more. I want to thank Dax, Oscar, Martin, and Farmfolio staffs for the wonderful trip.

My Trip to Colombia

My travels have taken me to Canada, Europe, Caribbean, and Central America; however, my travels have not taken me to South America.  I was excited and curious about my trip to Colombia, unsure of what to expect about their infrastructure, culture, food, safety, language and the people. I flew in and out of four airports, all were modern, efficient, clean, friendly and language was not an issue. During my travels by air, automobile, and walking in various cities, at no time did I feel in danger or concerned about my safety. In my travels, I saw a normal police present, in fact, a friendly police officer gave me directions in Cartagena. For the record, the food was amazing, since all the food is grown locally and freshly caught in the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean.

However, as much as I enjoyed my city tours, the “Farm” was the highlight of the trip. It was amazing, organized, and fun to visit. We toured the farm by jeep, walking, and riding horses. To see the cattle in various weight groups, to watch the cowboys (employees) herd the cows to the various pastures full of grass, and all pastures laid out on an excel spreadsheet demonstrates the organizational processes and procedures utilized by the farm. We rode horses through the impressive forest of teak trees, growing tall and healthy. To see pictures of the coconut trees in the nursery and planted is good, but does not do justice to the work that has been accomplished. Pictures cannot capture this beautiful scenery of the planted coconuts in the patterned rows going from hectare to hectare. It is truly difficult to comprehend how much has been accomplished in a short period of time without visiting the farm. One can see and feel the pride of the employees working on the farm when viewing the consolidation of the cattle grazing in pastures, the thinning of the teak forest, and the planting of the coconuts.  

Colombia, is a beautiful country, and I would like to thank Dax, Peter, and the farm employees for showing me their culture and their generous nature.