We start the new school year revisiting our agroforestry plot which is now in its 6th year. The plot has matured, there is a lot of shade from our plantains and other trees. Nitrogen fixing trees, mata raton, are growing well and are regularly pruned to give nutrients directly to the coffee through their organic […]
During the Bolivar Garden Saturday, we were pleased to host Drs Vaast and Souniga, experts in coffee and cacao to the school garden to informally assess the work that we are doing and to give advice on what should be our next steps. The location of the cacao plot were discussed, as was the spacing […]
One of the founding purposes of the Bolivar Garden was to build community and break down barriers in our school, through vocational learning – learning from others through a hands-on approach. Since the first ideas of a Bolivar Garden started in 2015 it has been imperative that we have never lost site of this goal. […]
Fernando OKA, the owner of Okafe Roasters in the north of the city, is a renowned coffee expert and barista. He roasts our coffee, Don Simón, to a medium roast and gives us advice on how to improve our cup profile. He visited Colegio Bolivar today to teach our students about coffee tasting and what […]
After setting up the seed bed for our new coffee, Don Hugo Guerrero, our school gardiner, showed students how to transplant seedlings into new bags with compost for their future growth.
Mr Gabriel Artunduaga Cuellar of Empresagro came to the school today to give a talk about plant nutrition and nutrient uptake by plants. His background in agronomy was put to great use with both gardeners, teachers and students experessing interest and asking questions of him during the course of his first session – a talk […]
The agric students have done a great job of clearing around the coffee plants, which are so big now. They cleaned away climbing weeds, removed debris and have collected our precious beans. A day after collecting our beans we processed them together as a class to complete the first step in the processing of the […]
On Sunday the 1st March 2020 over 700 competitors ran in the fifth Colegio Bolivar 5K Verde Run. This event brings together all members of our community in a fun, for some a grueling, 5K run around the school and surrounding area. The run also is a catalyst for planting trees for our city, Cali, […]
Don Simón has finally become a reality. After the planting of the first trees in 2017, we have had our first major cosecha and processed the beans, and our graphic design department has come up with our logo. The first Don Simón to be prepared and drunk was done so with staff on the 19th […]
After the coffee has had enough time to harvest we have to pick them off the plant. We do this by looking at the color of the shell of the coffee, if it’s anywhere from a vibrant red to a yellowish tinted red; then, the coffee is ready to be picked from the plant. […]
