Favio Legarda grew up watching his family work the land in Loreto, Orellana. He also witnessed what happened after each harvest: farmers delivered their coffee without knowing its price and without participating in what came next.
After graduating from Universidad San Francisco de Quito, he returned. Not to leave farming behind, but to transform it from within.
Favio Legarda, fundador de WITOKA.
In 2018, together with Andrea López, he founded WITOKA — an organization with 15 members, half Amazonian Kichwa and half mestizo — united by the belief that Amazonian coffee deserved more than commodity prices.
Andrea López, founder of WITOKA.
Their flagship products — fine Robusta honey and fine Robusta anaerobic coffee — are the result of this care that involves specialized fermentation and drying processes that transform an Amazonian bean into an export-quality coffee with a distinctive character.
When ALIADOS began working with WITOKA in 2023, the organization was already exporting coffee to Germany. Technical support, training, and working capital helped close the remaining gaps, allowing WITOKA to better sustain its production cycles, refine its post-harvest processes, and reach new markets.
Today, WITOKA has received three Taza Dorada awards and exports to Germany, the United States, Luxembourg, and Italy. More than bringing Amazonian coffee to the world, Favio and Andrea are demonstrating that it is possible to build value sustainably, create opportunities, and grow a business without leaving behind the forest that makes it possible.
