Grapia Milenaria

The company was founded in June 1996. Its name is Cooperativa Agropecuaria de Consumo El Colono Ltda. It is located in the ecological municipality Campo Ramòn in the Province of Misiones of Argentina.

Today its president is Carlos Bietcheler, who took office in 2007.Its founder was his father, who joined with a few producers with the idea of forming a cooperative to be able to advance with the yerba sector. The producer was for years excluded, he could not sell the yerba well and in this way it was difficult to sustain the farm. That is why the settlers came together, to give added value and improve the quality of life. Through the cooperative system, small producers reach the market with their own brand, which is the result of unity and cooperation. This Cooperative is integrated by 118 small producers of yerba mate, it is one of the most important sources of work in the town. The first few years were very difficult. One of the members of the cooperative donated a piece of land to start producing, they also obtained a loan from the Government of Misiones. They began to make yerba by outsourcing the drying processes and using borrowed deposits. A year later, they managed to sell the yerba canchada and began to build their own warehouse. Since 2015 they have their own dryer, which allows them to have greater control of the quality of their herb. Since the year 2022 El Colono Ltda. has also their own mill The cooperative makes participatory certification among the members, with a visit to the farms, taking care that the product is ecological; and is natural parking, for 12 or more months; that determines the taste of the product, free of pesticides. Grapia Milenaria is a natural parking herb, agroecological, it does not wash or give acidity due to this process. Grapia Milenaria is marketed in several provinces of Argentina, mostly in Córdoba and Rosario, also in Salta, Mendoza, Neuquén and the Central Market of Buenos Aires with the organization UTT (Union of Workers of the Earth), which are dedicated to market especially products of natural and agroecological cooperatives.