Colombian Organic Firm

Posted - November 1, 2008

Daabon Sets Mood for a Greener Colombia

By Adriana Michael - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2008

Daabon Organic, a third generation family-owned business in Colombia, is run by Alberto Davila Diazgranados, affectionately known to all as Don Alberto. He has turned a family farm founded by his father in 1914 into a progressive international enterprise, a pioneer in sustainable agriculture and a leading grower and exporter of organic bananas, palm oil, cacao and coffee. Don Alberto is an easy to approach man who enjoys the company of others. He certainly meets many people, running a company that employs over 1500 people and deals with over 400 contractors.

Keeping a business alive for almost 100 years is a challenging task.What has been the formula to its success? “Being fair with yourself and others, listening, setting clear rules for all family and co-workers, and finding the best people who share your vision and will be involved to reach the goals,” he says. Don Alberto learned from his father’s experiences as a banana exporter and plans on keeping the management of the business where it started: in the family. His five children are all employed by Daabon Organic, and  a structure is in place to welcome the 4th generation into the company as well.

“They all can join but need to show genuine interest in what we do, study abroad, work first for another company.Everyone is free to stay or to sell and leave”, he says. “So far everyone is still in…and with clear responsibilities and area of work, like in any other company”.

How has Don Alberto been able to transform such a large business into a completely organic enterprise? Throughout the seventies and eighties Daabon introduced conventional farming of African palm, cotton and rice crops. Soon they were aware of the incredible amount of pesticides the rice and cotton crops required. “We were stuck in a vicious cycle spending lots of money in infrastructure to spray the fields up to 28 times per year!”. The bugs got resistant and more inputs were needed. His son Manuel, raised the concept of organic farming. There was a market, particularly in France. Daabon converted the farms in 1993. “In the tropics you really need to be careful of what you do. We do not have seasons, but a rich biodiversity to protect.”

Another key to their success was to convince small land owners from the surrounding communities to become organic, and to show them a way of thinking and a lifestyle that went beyond conventional farming methods. They worked patiently with their local partners at all levels to show them why organic was the best way to go.

To that end, Daabon has created farming co-operatives, in collaboration with the government, to ensure the farmers receive technical assistance and financial support. Don Alberto describes one of his most rewarding experiences - he and his wife co-signed bank loans on 188 small farms, to allow the farmers to borrow capital to purchase seeds and start their own organic palm tree plantations. The effort has brought a 94% success rate, as most farmers understood the benefits of the concept.

Don Alberto and his team are in the process of converting Daabon Organic into a carbon-negative enterprise. He realizes that it will be a lengthy process, but one that will offer customers a new standard in conservation.