Buencafé contributes to growth and development of Chinchiná

With over 51,000 inhabitants, Chinchiná is a municipality in the department of Caldas, located 18 kilometers from the departmental capital, Manizales. It’s part of the Coffee Cultural Landscape, a region inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its cultural coffee heritage. Since 1973, when the Buencafé freeze-dried coffee factory opened its doors, the municipality has been benefited with the economic and social development brought by the company.

Buencafé has not only created jobs as one of the largest companies in Chinchiná (with currently about 650 direct employees and contractors), but also been concerned about well-being of its inhabitants, their quality of life, and the cultural impact on each of the families. For this reason, the company’s human resources management has focused on two main pillars: children and education.

Feeding with love

For about 15 years, Buencafé has been working along with the Nutrir Foundation* to provide food to school-age children. This Foundation has five dining-rooms in Chinchiná and serves children between 0 and 12 years old from low-income neighborhoods.

“We decided to serve babies and nursing mothers because we’ve learned that, if children between 0 and 5 years old receive adequate food, their physical and psychomotor development is much better. Currently, together with the Nutrir Foundation, we provide breakfast and lunch to 567 children,” said Tatiana Hoyos, Buencafé’s Human Resources Management Coordinator.

In education, Buencafé has made important contributions to the Chinchiná Municipal School of Arts and Trades, an institution that provides technical education for work, targeting the population’s labor needs. “The municipal administration recovered a space and turned it into a venue for education. Adaptations in the infrastructure were performed, for which we made donations; in addition, we contributed economically to ensure the administrative operation of the institution. We are currently working on the project of opening technological educational programs with the support of the National Learning Service (Sena). In 2017, we took our first step with a pneumatic and hydraulic technical workshop,” Hoyos said.

Working on the improvement of Chinchiná

“In 2015 we recovered one of the parks adjacent to the Municipal School of Arts and Trades. This place was abandoned; however, since we did the intervention, it was transformed into a recreation place for students, and we tried to give Chinchiná a better environment,” said the Buencafé Human Resources Management Coordinator.

In 2016 Buencafé recovered another park, located at the entrance of the municipality and there are plans to intervene another space this year.

“In Buencafé we also work to ensure there are no environmental impacts on the community; our philosophy is to recycle materials from the source, and through their sale we also perform social benefit activities such as supporting young people who represent the municipality in sports tournaments, donations to school bands, or support to the ‘Batuta (Baton)’ chorus of Manizales, among other activities,” Hoyos pointed out.

As support to culture, every year a sample of the traditional Manizales fair takes the streets of Chinchiná, and, together with the Mayor’s Office, cultural celebrations are organized, such as the municipality’s birthday or the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II.

“We always think about the welfare of workers and their families, with activities and projects that positively impact their environment. For example, Buencafé’s December lighting has become a must-see stop for families, and the Christmas celebration, organized for the children of the Nutrir Foundation, is an activity that they really look forward to, as the minors receive toys, shoes and clothing from our employees,” Hoyos said.

* The Nutrir Foundation is a nonprofit created in order to develop food supplementation and nutritional education programs that allow reducing child malnutrition. For further information, visit the website: http://www.nutrirong.com