In the San Lucas mountain range, one of the critical points in the jaguar corridor, these felines were venturing out of the forests to attack livestock in the meadows and farms, causing farmers to kill them. Changing the behavior of the farmers was proving very difficult, so we decided to change the jaguar's behavior. We created a natural barrier using coffee plants that keeps jaguars away from livestock areas due to their strong scent, and with this coffee, we launched Café Conserva®, whose sales are invested in generating more and more hectares of the natural barrier.

Jaguars transit naturally from Mexico to Argentina through the "Jaguar corridor". The San Lucas mountain range, in northern Colombia, is one of the critical points of this corridor since it is the place where the paths that connect Central America with South America meet.

While they are in their corridor, jaguars are safe and have no predators. However, as agriculture has expanded in their natural habitat, they are venturing out of the forests to eat livestock and cattle, causing farmers to kill them to protect their main source of income.

Over the last 30 years, the jaguar population has decreased by 25%. The mission was to reverse this trend, in a sustainable way.

Jaguars are shy hunters and prefer densely vegetated forest areas. When they leave their corridor for more open areas, they feel insecure and vulnerable. That's why we promote the planting of a natural coffee wall to separate the jaguar's corridor from the entire livestock area of the region. The strong scent of coffee is unpleasant for their sense of smell and encourages the jaguar to return to its habitat.

From these coffee crops, we created Café Conserva®, a high-quality Colombian export coffee rated 87 points by the SCA. The sales of this product were reinvested in generating more hectares of The Jaguar Wall. In three years, we reached 120 hectares of crops and we expect to reach 500 by 2030.

Three specific audiences were identified:

- Farmers and livestock growers in the San Lucas mountain range

- Quality coffee lovers (national and international)

- Animal rights activists and environmentalists.

For livestock owners, we conducted sensitization work explaining the importance of jaguars for ecosystem. For farmers and locals, we encourage them to adopt coffee as a crop (they were cultivating coca), showing them that this coffee was more profitable and beneficial for all.

For coffee lovers, we approached them through digital platforms, showcasing the background and quality attributes of Café Conserva®, including its high rating from the SCA.

Through our social media and PR efforts, we showed animal rights activists and environmentalists our purpose and sought to make them spokespeople for the initiative

The initiative began with training and sensitizing the residents of the San Lucas mountain range to encourage them to plant coffee on their farms and become part of the Jaguar wall.

Once the crops were ready, the Café Conserva® brand was created and launched (design, logo, distribution, e-commerce), with packaging that told the story of the jaguar route, and how we are protecting it through the natural wall. From there, the coffee was marketed nationally and internationally through digital platforms.

Finally, we used our social media networks to communicate our purpose to more people inside and outside the country.

Café Conserva® is being sold in 5 countries (Colombia, United States, Netherlands, Norway, and Vietnam). Thanks to those sales, we now have 120 hectares of crops. More than 250 tons of Café Conserva® have been sold. In the last 2 years, no jaguars have been killed by livestock owners in the San Lucas mountain range.

Colombia is the third largest coffee exporter in the world, however, the Serranía de San Lucas is not known for this. This place is not only a key point in the Jaguar corridor but also a region where the national government has little presence and capacity for action, which led to the expansion of illicit crops as the main source of income for rural communities (in 2011 it was estimated that there were 6,000 hectares of coca cultivation).