Katherin Vallejo
My name is Katherin Vallejo and I am from Colombia. My business partner, Nicolas Valderas, is from Chile, and we decided to move to Portugal in 2023. At the time, we were living in Vietnam, but we felt that it wasn’t a place where we could build something lasting. So, after analyzing various factors and possibilities, Portugal emerged as the best option. We already knew the country, loved the climate, and realized it would be easier to obtain documentation here than in other places we considered.
During our travels around the world, we realized that, although everyone loves coffee, it’s not easy to find high-quality and affordable coffee. This is how our business idea was born: to sell Colombian coffee, sourced from regions in Colombia that were once conflict zones with coca plantations, made by former guerrillas who chose to change their lives and now produce specialty coffee for export. This is how Nomada Andino was born.
More than just selling quality coffee, our goal is to support these people by giving them access to new markets and fair prices. When these workers sell to the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros, they receive very little for their labor. What happens is that, after years of struggling to maintain a business, when people are still in a precarious situation, they inevitably return to illegal plantations. I am Colombian, and upon arriving in Europe, like many other migrants, I faced the stigma we all know: "You're Colombian, like Pablo Escobar?" That stigma motivated me to showcase another side of Colombia: the hard work and the stories of perseverance from people who want to rebuild their lives and create a better future. We created this project, not only out of passion for coffee but also with the mission to create an alternative, to give these people an opportunity for stable income and a dignified life. At the same time, we want to change the narrative about the Colombian people and show that we are much more than what people think of us.
Bureaucracy has been one of the biggest obstacles to our work. When we started importing coffee to Portugal, the process was a nightmare, with unexpected fees, customs hurdles, and disappointing quality. We lost money and time, but we learned and adapted: we began establishing partnerships with local associations and started roasting the coffee in Portugal, ensuring the best quality – the feedback we received was incredible.
The support we’ve received, especially from our Colombian community here, has been impressive. Before we officially started selling, we had already sold 20 kilos of coffee. People are asking for it, wanting to try the coffee, wanting to support our project. The most interesting part was realizing that, for many people, the simple idea of authentic coffee with clear origin makes all the difference.
Looking ahead to the challenges the future holds, I believe my biggest goal will be to promote education for the healthy and sustainable consumption of coffee. The truth is that people in Portugal are used to drinking coffee full of chemicals, mixed with sugar to mask the poor quality – and no one knows about it. The process of roasting with sugar, for example, although legal in Portugal, is extremely harmful to health. I want people to know what they are consuming and to have access to quality coffee. What truly matters is the change we can make, both in the lives of those who produce it and those who consume it. And I believe we can create that difference.
