Conscious City Guide: Medellín
I decided to move back to the city of Eternal Spring for a 3 month sabbatical, to take a break from the corporate lifestyle. It provided me with the opportunity to reset, reconnect with my roots, spend quality time with my grandparents, to try new things, find new passions, and invest my time doing the things that I enjoy the most.
I am passionate about conscious traveling and supporting the local community, for this reason I decided to go on a hunt for emerging places in my home city, Medellín, that have a sustainability aspect to their business and who support local farmers, artisans, and sustainably source their produce/materials.
Below is a list of some of the places I came across. Also, I reached out to the awesome people at Catalyst and they were so kind to also suggest a few other places. Catalyst is the weekly event guide to Medellin and master directory, you can sign up for their newsletter to stay informed about all the cool networking and cultural events happening in the city.
Below is the compiled list, enjoy!
SHOPPING
De Mis Manos
I love everything about this local franchise. De Mis Manos translates to From My Hands which is a project by World Women’s Corporation (Corporación Mundial de la Mujer). Which is a nonprofit, private entity, that works for the development and strengthening of micro-entrepreneurs through the project "De mis manos". They focus on growth, consolidation and business transformation. All the merchandise found at any of these stores are made by hand, by local artisans and entrepreneurs. They have so many cute and unique items you won’t find anywhere else! I was also very pleased to find that 85% of their products are made by women. By purchasing from these stores you are supporting the innovation of local artisans/entrepreneurs and transforming their lives. You can find these stores at the following malls: Suramericana, Unicentro, Oviedo, Los Molinos.
Blend Shop
While wandering through Via Primavera in El Poblado I found many cute and unique boutiques. That’s how I stumbled upon Blend Shop which carries many brands that also support local artisans. Most of their brands have a conscious and social impact mission such as: Fokus (eco-friendly fashion brand) and Bachué jewelry (sustainably sourced supporting forgotten indigenous cultures). You can also find handmade items such as soaps, notebooks, jewelry and other crafts and even eco-friendly 5-free nail polish. The best part is that in this store you will only find Colombian brands and locally made crafts!
Bachué Joyería
Bachué Jewelry is one of the brands you can find at Blend Shop on Via Primavera in el Poblado. Bachué has the mission of rescuing the forgotten indigenous cultures of Colombia while being responsible with the environment. What I loved about this brand is that besides being sustainably sourced and locally made, their designs are inspired by forgotten indigenous cultures.
CAFÉS
Rituales Compañía de Café
I am amazed by this place and it’s honestly my favorite coffee shop in Medellin! Their coffee beans are grown in Medellin, on the hillsides of La Sierra neighborhood, an area that was burdened with violence and struggled for criminal control. Now, it has seen a huge positive transformation in the recent years. Due to the close proximity where their coffee is sourced, it is super fresh and delicious! They also have a full menu service and everything I tried was very yummy. Their meals are made in house with local ingredients (their guacamole has maracuyá [passion fruit] in it! Such an interesting mix but extremely good!). They also sell other items that are sourced locally and sustainably, such as honey.
Infussion of Coffee Husk
Pergamino
Pergamino grows, harvests, and roasts their own coffee. They are also affiliated with more than 450 coffee producers in the entire country of Colombia, therefore serving the highest quality of coffee at their coffee shops while also supporting local coffee farmers, contrary to the norm, where the highest quality of coffee is exported to other countries. They also export fresh roasted coffee to the US!
Literal Cold Brew Bar
It’s a bar, restaurant and cafe, specializing in cold brew coffee which is so refreshing! They open starting at 2pm and they also serve Rituales coffee which is the coffee sourced from La Sierra neighborhood mentioned earlier.
Within the Cold Brew Bar you can find the Literal store which sells multiple brands by Colombian designers. Their selection is so chic and very unique! You can find a selection of fashionable items as well as home decor at this boutique. Literally fashion and food blends nicely at this place located one block from parque El Poblado.
Tilín Tilín
This place is not a coffee shop, but still worth mentioning as you can find delicious chocolate! Their chocolate is raw, vegan, sustainably sourced, and most importantly it supports the Colombian cacao farmers! I came across their chocolate bars at many healthy and organic stores but I wasn't aware that you can actually visit their chocolate farm which is located right in el Poblado neighborhood. Walk ins are welcome and I definitely recommend for anyone to come learn about how they make their chocolate, learn about their mission, and most importantly taste all their chocolate varieties! Even limited edition chocolate bars! (it may look like the store is closed, but ring the bell located on the right side of the door and someone will invite you in with a smiling face). Btw, Guándolo chocolate bar is one of my favorite!
FOOD
Restaurante Justo
Restaurante Justo is a plant based restaurant that vegans and non-vegans alike would love! They have cold pressed juices, smoothies, amazing salads and healthy main courses. Even if you are not vegan/vegetarian you would love their menu options because it’s so palatable and most importantly, very nutritious! Even the desserts are so good and the best part is that they are guilt-free!
Inside Restaurante Justo you can find the organic market “Ceres”, where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables and many organic and healthy products like nut milks, kombucha, nut flours, seeds, vegan proteins, arepas made with chia seeds (arepas are Colombian corn bread), and much more! I’ve been drinking kombucha for many years now but was ecstatic to try coffee flavored kombucha, perks of living in Colombia!
Lavocadería
First avocado bar in Colombia! If you love avocados you MUST visit this place! Every single item on their menu have avocados even their smoothies and cocktails! There’s also a mini store inside the restaurant with more avocado stuff such as avocado oil, avocado iPhone cases (I had to get one of course), aprons with avocado prints, and much more :)
Restaurante Natto
Also located on Via Primavera in el Poblado, Restaurante Natto offers a great variety of healthy options. It is such a cozy restaurant with a great ambiance and excellent service; the food is also very good! I came here many times for lunch and ended up staying the whole afternoon working from my laptop and having a productive day (while ordering their delicious healthy brownies!)
Naturalía Cafe
Healthy food, natural drinks, artesanal bakery and cultural programs can be found at this relaxing place in Laureles. I came across Naturalía to check out their international movie nights.
Their cultural event schedule varies but it might look like the one below, they post the updated information on their facebook page.
Tuesday Nights: Movie Club
Thursday: Open Mic on their first Thursday of every month
Friday/Saturday: Live Music
Saturday: Workshops - varies but in the past they have had workshops of origami, plants, mosaics. Check their FB page to see updated event schedule.
Saludpan
They are pioneers of conscious, organic, and natural nutrition. They provide healthy, raw, and vegan food options with ingredients sourced locally from a farm in Santa Elena. They also have an eco market where you can find organic produce and healthy goods.
Farmers Market
Of course there's no better way to support the local agricultores than by going to a nearby farmers market. There are many throughout the city but I really liked the one close to el Poblado located in parque presidenta on Sundays. They have fresh produce as well as delicious homemade baked goods, jams, honey, dips, etc.
If you find yourself in Medellin, try some of these places yourself! Check out the downloadable map to find all the spots listed above.
(Click on the star to view the map on Google Maps: Your Places > Maps)
This is a growing list as more and more conscious store/restaurants are emerging in the city. If you have suggestions for spots that should be included, post them in the comments below!