“We are looking to break the Guinness Record in Creole hen eggs. In China they were 175 grams in China, 135 grams in Mexico, but ours is almost a quarter of a kilo,” stated Hernando Nino. Nino, a farmer and owner of the Altamira ranch in Columbia, states that his hen “Franciscana” has become his pride and joy.

The farmers were displaced by the constant violence and the military conflicts from his native Santander to the center of Columbia, where the ranch was created two decades ago. The farm is a pioneer in food self-sufficiency in organic farming, excluding the use of any chemicals. “Franciscana is an ordinary chicken… eats like any other: corn and other natural foods”, stated Nino.

Altamira is located near the municipality of San Francisco which benefits from an ideal atmosphere of 1,720 meters above sea level that creates a favorable climate for “the hot air rising from the Magdalena River”, he stated. Furthermore, according to Nino, his farm is built in a permaculture model of life that maximizes natural resources without harming nature.

The farm also produces most foods necessary in a balanced diet accompanied by a variety of medicinal and aromatic plants. They also produce vegetables, milk, dairy products, chicken, and many eggs. Nino goes as far as comparing his organic farm to the development programs of the NGO Corporation Colombia Organic. They also receive many visits from school children due to their training farmers program.

Nino seeks no more reasons to explain what happened with “Franciscana”, he simply states, “In a place as special as Altamira, it is not so strange that my hen laid an egg that large.”