If you’ve ever visited a coffee farm, you might have passed by long rows of baby trees tightly packed in plastic tubes, waiting for their turn to join a lot on the farm. Nurseries are essential for consistent production—replanting lots is a necessary task carried out to maintain consistent production year over year. Endless seas of seedlings can be a beautiful sight, but nurseries are also frequently a massive source of plastic waste.
At GCC, we are committed to sustainable coffee production, and introducing the Ellepot system to Colombia eliminates plastics from our nursery production. Additionally, we can share this technology with our regional coffee producing community. By using Ellepot’s compostable bags, we’ve stopped the need for plastics and introduced a more efficient propagation strategy that can create a lasting impact in Salgar’s coffee community.
Our commitment to quality through innovation is why we are one of a few producers in Colombia now using Ellepot’s propagation technology.
The Ellepot potting system and propagation strategy allows us to raise healthier seedlings in less time without using any plastics. A machine fills biodegradable, cellulose bags with a mix of peat perlite and coconut bark that is the ideal development environment for germinated seeds. This improves upon the manual method in several ways.
Our agronomy team is thrilled with the effectiveness of the Ellepot and the next phase of this project will be sharing the technology with our neighbors in Salgar. The GCC is excited to share this propagation system to small farmholders in the Salgar area. With higher survival rates, shorter development times, and no plastic bags, farmers are recognizing this propagation system as a smarter, more economical way forward.
