From the High Mountains of Ecuado - Andean Agave Spirits

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Eliot Logan-Hines, founder and CEO of Andean Agave Spirits, located in Taos, NM, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Chawar is an agave spirit from the high mountains of Ecuador made by Ecuador's first all-women agave cooperative. For thousands of years, indigenous people in the Ecuadorian Andes have cultivated a beautiful relationship with the agave plant. Wild harvested at high over 10,000 feet, the women of the Mishkita coop harvest the agave sap, known as "chawarmishki" in the Quechua language, twice a day. We naturally ferment and double distill this juice to create our award winning spirit. It is in the family of mezcal and tequila but has a smoother, softer, more floral, and slightly sweet hint to it. We now have distribution in the US and you can find us in liquor stores, bars and restaurants throughout New Mexico.

Tell us about yourself

I am a trained tropical forester and environmentalist. I have worked for over 15 years in the rainforests and mountains of Central and South America. I came to Ecuador 11 years ago to work in the Amazon rainforest with indigenous communities and their knowledge of local plants. With a grant from the MacArthur Foundation for innovative conservation projects, I teamed up with a group of women high in the town of Cayambe in the Ecuadorian Andes to help them create Ecuador's first all womens agave coop. We created a prototype spirit, and four years ago we built our first distillery in Ecuador just outside of Quito, the national capital. I am motivated by adventure and a deep connection to nature and indigenous knowledge. My husband is an indigenous man from the Amazon rainforest. Together we have started a herd of alpacas and llamas both in Ecuador and New Mexico. My connection with them deepens my connection to the natural world. I love taking them around with us, even to bars and liquor stores.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I think my biggest accomplishment so far has been to develop a working relationship and trust with the women of the Mishkita agave coop. It was hard at the beginning. I basically stumbled upon this group of ladies high in the mountains of Ecuador who had the most amazing tradition of harvesting "chawarmishki" or agave sap. I immediately wanted to make tequila (typical male behavior). But at first, they were not super excited that a giant gringo showed up and wanted to make tequila. (Ok, technically, it's not tequila because it's not in Mexico..blah blah blah).

But we kept working at it. It took years before they would open up or even smile when I would visit. I learned about their lives. I learned about their history. They had very rough lives growing up. They grew up in the latifundia system on the largest hacienda of Ecuador. Their parents and their grandparents were slaves of the hacienda. The harvesting of agave was something they hid from the owners of the hacienda, which I began to learn was why they were reluctant to share this tradition with an outsider.

And now I see that these ladies don't hide their tradition of harvesting. They are proud of it. They are improving their lives and the lives of their family from the money they are making. They are no longer unpaid workers on a giant hacienda. They own their land. They are planting agave on their farms.

We come together every solstice (June 21 and Dec 21), when the sun passes directly overhead on the equator. We have re-created and re-invented an ancient Andean tradition. We use the time to confront problems, plan the coming months, cook enormous amounts of food, and of course, drink lots of Chawar.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing about being a business owner is that whenever there is a problem, it's always ultimately my fault. If we run out of money, my fault. If we run out of product, my fault. If one of my employees hurts themselves, my fault. You have to stay strong and be bigger than you feel yourself to be.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Don't be scared about running out of money, you will.
Make sure that you enjoy what you are doing.
Develop trust and learn to trust your teammates and employees; you can't do it all on your own.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.drinkchawar.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andeanagave
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andeanagave/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliot-logan-hines-b9668626/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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