San José, 3 november 2025 (IICA). Raúl Ortiz presents himself as a certified public accountant and coffee grower from the state of Anzoátegui, Venezuela. For over a decade, he has been working to combine the best of both worlds—the commercial and the agricultural—helping local coffee producers move toward higher-quality products that bring better sales and growing exposure to the agrotourism business.
“Working with coffee and tourism”, says this producer from Mundo Nuevo, “is a privilege that connects a farmer’s passion with the joy of sharing the fruits of his harvest”.
For his work promoting coffee-growing communities in his region and innovating in the field of agrotourism, Ortiz was recognized as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). He will receive the “Soul of Rurality” award, part of an IICA initiative to highlight men and women who make a lasting impact in the rural areas of the continent—key figures for food and nutritional security and for the sustainability of the region and the planet.
“I feel fortunate to be able to foster an inclusive economy and contribute to the country’s growth and development”, says the Venezuelan producer. Ortiz is also an example of how the entire continent is adapting to new times and new coordinates in the agricultural economy, in his case by responding to the growing demand for specialty coffee.
In addition to his degree in accounting, Raúl holds a master’s in finance, both from the prestigious Universidad de Oriente. His story begins in Los Pajaritos, “one of the most remote villages in the country”, he says, where producers grow coffee and vegetables. The landscape could hardly be more beautiful: Los Pajaritos lies in the mountainous Turimiquire region, where nature “taught us to preserve the environment”.
After attending primary school in Mundo Nuevo and secondary school even farther away—leaving home at five in the morning to arrive on time—Raúl went on to university, graduated and worked for five years in the private sector, in health-related companies. Along with his university studies in Barcelona, that business experience, he says, “opened the door to knowledge” and inspired him to launch the Los Pajaritos coffee brand, which is being developed alongside the family estate of the same name.
Los Pajaritos, Ortiz explains, is a vertically integrated agro-industrial project designed to promote coffee sales and foster the development of neighboring coffee growers. He encourages them to dedicate part of their crops to high-quality beans that can be sold to customers seeking specialty coffee—an increasingly popular product in major cities around the world.
A third-generation coffee grower, Ortiz began with two plots, which have since grown to four—land nestled among mountains and rivers where he also plants trees to provide the shade coffee plants need to grow healthily. In total, Raúl says, his plots yield around one hundred quintals of coffee, a modest volume but one concentrated in plants of excellent quality.
“We select the best coffee, process it, and bring it to the city” of Mundo Nuevo, where “we look for clients who can pay the right price for this kind of bean”. In return, he adds, “we guarantee they will always have good coffee throughout the year”.
According to Ortiz, this business model also serves as an example for other producers, including his associates. The idea is for them to set aside “at least ten percent” of their production “to sell a good product” to customers “who will value it”, he explains.
This improvement effort, he adds, has created a sustainable local economy. “We saw exponential growth where, by dedicating ten percent to high-quality coffee, many producers increased their volumes by about thirty percent compared to 2017”.
Raúl Ortiz welcomes visitors to Hacienda Los Pajaritos, where he shares the secrets of coffee production.
Coffee in bakeries and cafés across Miranda and Anzoátegui
The Los Pajaritos coffee brand, Ortiz notes, has been nationally registered since 2020 and granted a ten-year license. “It’s an industrialization process”, he says proudly. Although they still lack some of the machinery needed for the entire coffee transformation cycle and must outsource certain stages, “we are entrepreneurs making progress, buying equipment and promoting training—which is the most important part”.
Even when outsourcing or subcontracting parts of the process, “we know how to manage coffee processing in the best way”, Raúl says.
Much of the project’s innovation centers on marketing and agrotourism. Within this integrated model, the Los Pajaritos team is in charge of planting, harvesting, processing and distributing the coffee. “And we can also serve you a delicious cup”, he promises.
The quality of this coffee, grown near the Turimiquire mountain range, can be appreciated “in several bakeries up here”, in hotels across Miranda State, and in cafés in Puerto La Cruz and Barcelona, Anzoátegui, where it is also served in major hotels, Ortiz adds. Visitors can also taste it at the estate itself by booking a tour through social media (@cafelospajaritosve, on Instagram).
“When someone comes to my home, they become part of the family—and that’s how we treat them”, says Raúl, who learned hospitality from his father, a farmer and for many years the only nurse in the area. “One of the main things he taught me was humility: even in times of abundance—when owning a farm was a very good business—it’s always important to serve others”.
Those values, Ortiz says, guide the way visitors are welcomed to the estate. “Whenever people visit our farm, we explain how production works—how we plant, select the beans, the secrets of grinding, and the best methods for drying”.
After the tour, visitors can buy “the coffee I harvest, without paying intermediary or transportation costs to reach municipal markets or other sales points.” Raúl calls this a ‘zero-kilometer’ space—an initiative that other coffee growers are joining.
“It’s a form of direct connection that helps us minimize costs and expand the reach of our coffee and other agricultural products”, he emphasizes.
Collective dreams, not personal ones
Whether in producing high-quality coffee or promoting agrotourism, “one of the most important things is to professionalize”, Ortiz insists. “We are coffee growers—that’s a talent—but when you go to university and earn a degree, you gain a kind of knowledge that’s different from the empirical wisdom you inherit from being born on a farm and working the land”, he reflects.
“We must go out”, Ortiz stresses, “we are obliged as human beings to seek knowledge, because it opens so many doors”. Yet, he warns, “we must never forget our identity. If you were born in a village, you should be proud of it—and when you go to university, say you’re from Los Pajaritos, the child of a coffee grower or a rancher, and reinforce your family values”.
“That identity should be part of our culture”, he concludes, “and as long as we keep it alive, people will want to return to the countryside”.
Asked about his vision for the future, Raúl answers without hesitation: “To build a great industry starting from the Los Pajaritos estate. I only ask God for health and life to make that dream come true—a dream that is more collective than personal”.
The brand created by Raúl Ortiz promotes the production of specialty coffee and fosters the integration of local producers in the mountainous region of Turimiquire.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
