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"I decided to create a business related to coffee, but I always believed that it should be a profitable business, that it would provide decent employment, have a professional level, pay well and encourage people to continue to develop." ‎
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Oscar Hernandez, CEO of Los Nogales. The farm Los Nogales is located in the fertile coffee land, between the majestic and green mountains of the largest department of Brussels in Colombia, in the village of El Diamante. Rural hospitality, fresh air, rugged mountains shrouded in thick clouds make up an area that preserves the history of the Hernandez family among the coffee plantations. Five generations of a family that laid a love for the land and coffee at its roots and passed it on to the present day. ‎
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About 80 years ago, when the Brussels area was just being formed, Ricardo Hernandez and Concepcion Castillo came from Narinho to the fertile wastelands, grateful to those who would become their protectors and set a precedent in the history of coffee. Having found this heavenly corner, they decided to start a family, and from the fruit of their love, 8 children were born, who devoted their lives to the countryside. ‎
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Among these 8 brothers, one stood out, leading the family and forever entering the history of the coffee world. Ricardo Hernández, the youngest son of Ricardo Hernández and Concepcion Castillo, born in 1952, is a farmer who learned from the land values, generosity, humility and the ability to take responsibility. His profession has always been growing coffee, and he dreamed of seeing his children grow up on a farm with the values ​​he had learned. ‎
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In Valle del Cauca, Ricarte meets his life partner, Sulderi Arango, an enterprising woman with coffee running through her veins, and with whom he will build a coffee empire side by side with their children - Olga Lucia, John Freddy, Liliana, Nancy, Paola, Oscar Fernando, Patricia and Angie Juliet. ‎
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His leadership in the region led to him becoming president of the Community Action Council, committed to the community and his union. However, in the 1990s, they decided to take up farming and move to Kaketa. When they sold the farm, the cattle business failed, and they returned to their land, which had given them the greatest happiness in life. ‎
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In 2005, Colombia revolutionized the world of coffee by holding the first coffee competition "Cup of Excellence", in which more than 280 lots participated, including lots from the Los Nogales farm led by Ricardo Hernandez. The coffee from the Los Nogales farm was recognized as the best by the international jury and took first place. "It was lucky for Huila, for Colombia and for the family, because everyone started talking about specialty coffee and it divided the history of coffee cultivation into 'before' and 'after,'" says Oscar Hernandez, youngest son and current administrator of the estate Los Nogales. ‎
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Ricardo always wanted to promote this industry from other perspectives, giving added value to specialty coffee, finding new ways to cultivate the soil, looking for new ways of selling and doing business - a passion that he passed on to his children, who will inherit this great responsibility. ‎
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A COFFEE PLANTATION MOURNS ITS LOSS. ‎
The Colombian countryside has always been steeped in violence, and this story was no exception. On February 17, 2013, while Ricardo was driving to a farm in Los Nogales, armed criminals killed him, making him yet another victim of the endless violence that exists in the country. A coffee leader, a pioneer of high-quality coffee, an unforgettable symbol of courage and perseverance, he left a great precedent and example in history for thousands of farmers who live off coffee plantations. It was a blow not only to the family, but also to the country, which mourned his loss. ‎
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After this tragic event, the family decided to sell the farm to ensure a better welfare for the mother. However, the younger son Oscar Fernando, who was serving in the National Navy at the time, decided to leave his military career and take responsibility for his father's great legacy. "For me, the best way to heal those wounds was to go back to the farm and continue his work, to feel that he was there and to believe that he was proud of what we were doing as a family," - Oscar Hernandez, Ricardo's son. ‎
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THIRD GENERATION OF THE HERNANDEZ FAMILY: THE STORY OF THE MANUFACTURER Oscar Fernando Hernandez, an industrial engineer and former naval non-commissioned officer, is the youngest son of Ricardo Hernandez, who currently heads the family project. His life from childhood was linked to the fields of the Laboyos Valley. However, the way he was raised by his father caused him to see the field as a punishment during his childhood and youth, losing his love for the job. ‎
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Wanting to see his sons become professionals and with the aim of providing them with a better quality of life, the father supported Fernando in his desire to join the navy and start a military career: “When I served in the army, I experienced for the first time what it means to be away from the farm and I began to appreciate the freedom, the countryside, the family, the food my mother cooked... However, my father was afraid that we would have the same needs as he had when he lived in the village, so he told me to study, "