Fifteen years ago, José “Pepe” Jijón’s life was very different indeed. In 2010, he decided to settle down and reconnect with the natural beauty of his homeland, purchasing Finca Soledad—a 120-hectare farm high above the Intag Valley in northern Ecuador, near the Colombian border.
In his younger years, Pepe traveled the world working as a mountaineering guide and became the first Latin American to climb all Seven Summits—the highest mountains on each continent.
Finca Soledad sits high in the Ecuadorian Andes. Now beautiful and lush, the area was previously a victim of mining operations and heavy deforestation. Pepe and the team at Finca Soledad, including his father and his son, José, have been working to restore the land to its natural state and have replanted over 25,000 trees. Pepe employs a biodynamic approach to farming at Soledad—a holistic, regenerative, and organic method of agriculture that views the farm as a living ecosystem, utilizing feedback from each part of the system to determine what the farm needs.
Originally a much larger operation, today, Pepe has focused his coffee production on a small 4-hectare section of the farm, growing unique varieties such as Geisha, Sidra, and Typica Mejorado—a little-known variety believed to be native to Ecuador. Current research suggests it’s a cross between an heirloom Ethiopian variety and Bourbon. Pepe has long cultivated this variety, and with its exceptional quality, it has become a favorite in many world coffee competitions.
