Arrived safely in Bogota last night.
This morning we toured the largest wholesale fruit market in Bogota – 42sq hectares! 10 million dollars in sales per day happens at this market and 200,000 people per day are involved in the transactions. By the time we arrived mid morning most of the day’s business was over but it was an interesting point of reference before we went on to visit Fruandes.
Fruandes was started by a group of of like minded friends who wanted to create a sustainable business model helping disadvantaged women in downtown Bogota. Fruandes dries fruit grown in different regions of Colombia such as mango, physalis, banana and papaya. Their model breaks the middle-man chain where the farmer is the last to get paid.
We met with all the support staff and production people at Fruandes, witnessed pineapple being prepared for dehydration and heard so many stories of how being part of Fruandes had changed poeples lives. Fabio is a perfect example. Fabio grew up in the lowest strata of Bogota where expectations of breaking the cycle of poverty were slim. Under the mentorship and guidance of Giovanni, the manager at Fruandes, Fabio is now quality control and logistics manager improving productivity and making Fruandes more successful. He now is able to support his own young family.
Giovanni & Fabio
