In response to recent media and social media posts, we want to provide some clearer context on the situation with some neighbors and clarify certain aspects of what has been posted.

• Our Dejamu plant is located in a rural area of ​​Subachoque, an area that has historically been intensive in agricultural production: livestock and potato, pea and carrot crops, among others.

• Dejamu began its activity 20 years ago as a small family business: my wife prepared yogurt in our kitchen with the milk that I milked from the cow that my father gave us.

• Little by little and thanks to the joint work with the neighbors of the region, the trust of our clients and our commitment to them, Dejamu has been growing organically until becoming one of the most successful companies in Subachoque.

• Over the past twenty years we have seen how the region has changed. Subachoque has generously welcomed new residents from Bogotá who see the region as an opportunity to establish their holiday homes. Inevitably this has been changing the social and economic structure of the municipality.

• This change has created tensions between the productive tradition and the expectations of the new inhabitants who seek rest and recreation. We believe that this change is the key factor behind the conflict with the reporting neighbour.

• Anyone who comes to Subachoque, even if only on weekends, must take into account that the peasants in the villages depend on the region's own productivity to secure their resources and sustain their projects. Subachoque residents who work in their municipality require stable jobs such as those offered by the agroindustry.

• Twenty years of joint work in Subachoque has built relationships with the community, which today expresses its support, as do the local governments, which highlight the leading role of Dejamu in the development of the municipality. More than 2,100 signatures support this support.

Based on this reality, we present verifiable information about several INACCURACIES OR SIMPLY FALSE COMMENTS that have been disseminated about the operation of DEJAMU:

1. DEJAMU is not an industry: DEJAMU is an agroindustry.

2. DEJAMU is not a factory: DEJAMU is a food production plant.

3. DEJAMU does not operate in an environmental conservation reserve: DEJAMU carries out its activity in an area where the law allows the development of agroindustry and agricultural production.

4. DEJAMU does not operate outside the regulations: DEJAMU has the technical permits from INVIMA for the products it offers, and the environmental permits from the CAR and urban planning permits for the development of its activity.

5. Regarding the alleged excessive noise:

• The environmental authority has not made sound measurements in DEJAMU to determine whether or not noise problems are generated.

• The closest neighbors are located more than 500 linear meters away on a 14-hectare rural property.

6. Regarding alleged bad odors:

• We have not been notified of any complaints regarding alleged bad odors.

7. Regarding the alleged dumping of whey into the ravines:

• DEJAMU never discharges waste into the river. All waste is treated as required by law, through a third party that has environmental licenses and collects wastewater daily.

• Regarding solid waste, we have contracted MC RECUPERADORES SAS, which collects this waste weekly and processes it in accordance with environmental standards.

• The municipal government is aware of this waste management, as mentioned above.

• As Nicolas Rivera, a journalist from El Colombiano, said, citing the CAR: “the CAR filed the complaints because during the visit and the tests on the water, no traces of these contaminated liquids were found.”

• There are two CAR rulings in response to the complainant regarding alleged contamination of the stream, in which they conclude, after taking laboratory tests upstream and downstream of our property, that there is NO contamination. The process was archived and at the moment we do not have nor have we had any sanctioning process.

• DEJAMU has never been sanctioned for polluting the air or water of the municipality.

8. Regarding alleged expansion without licensing:

• On the property there are sheds that are used for agricultural activities, permitted by the POT.

• We have temporary tents that cannot be considered conventional constructions requiring a license because they are dismantled. We have initiated administrative action aimed at ensuring that the correction is made.

• It is very important to keep in mind that the current licenses and the POT allow several productive uses on the property.

• Regarding the police inspection visit to verify the size of the lot in relation to a construction site and tents inside, it is important to report that the inspector entered our property by force, ignoring our request to reschedule since there was no one to receive the visit. The circumstances of this visit did not present any imminent emergency situation or court order for the police to enter.

9. About spotlights on all night:

• We have been reviewing the situation to evaluate the option of withdrawing them or directing them in another direction.

10. Regarding alleged damage to country roads:

• The roads are narrow because the municipality has not required the owners to comply with the requirements of Law 1228 of 2008 regarding the setbacks of fences adjacent to the road. Nor has it carried out the necessary works to update it in accordance with the growth and activity in the area.

• We do not know how “road damage” can be evident on historically deteriorated roads.

• DEJAMU has provided materials, labor and financial resources for the construction of the concrete slabs and for the paving of a section entering through the Canica Baja school.

• In 2023, DEJAMU contributed $1,415 million to the municipality of Subachoque for ICA tax payment.

11. On alleged "instrumentalization" of workers:

Regarding this statement that we did not understand, the newspaper El Colombiano explained that they were referring to the fact that "Several of the complainants claim that the testimonies of their employees are part of a strategy to "pressure" the municipal administration under the argument that they are creating jobs with local labor and contributing to the development of the region."

At Dejamu, workers and the company are not two different things. They are one single entity. Isn't it natural that workers, faced with a threat to their way of life, their assets and that of their family, should ask to be taken into account and speak out?

In addition to clarifying these points, we would like to highlight some of the initiatives that DEJAMU has undertaken in the region over the past 20 years and which have contributed significantly to the well-being of our community:

• DEJAMU's agricultural activity is ecological: for 20 years we have not used agrochemicals to maintain livestock pastures.

• DEJAMU reforests pastures with native species that provide fertilization and pest control without the need for synthetic chemicals that have proven negative environmental effects.

• DEJAMU offsets its carbon footprint by planting trees. We have planted nearly 10,000 trees in Subachoque and 4,000 in the headwaters of the Bogotá River. Our tree planting registers 1,000 trees every two months, depending on the rainy season.

• DEJAMU has provided materials, labor and financial resources for the construction of the concrete slabs and for the paving of a section entering through the Canica Baja school.

• DEJAMU generates 600 direct jobs that in turn contribute to the economic fabric of the municipality.

• DEJAMU hires single mothers, offering them a formal relationship that they would not have access to in other activities such as farming, livestock, farm management and security, among others.

• DEJAMU has a scholarship program for higher education for its collaborators, as well as ongoing training programs.

• DEJAMU offers its employees opportunities for growth: most of the people who currently manage the business started out as operators, some without a high school diploma and with few job prospects. Today, many are professionals, which multiplies the opportunities for them and their families.

It is essential that, as a society, we avoid falling into ideas or narratives that demonize productive activity and/or entrepreneurs.

It is vital to be clear and to recognise that the countryside must continue to be a driving force of development capable of generating employment and livelihood for thousands of families and contributing to the GDP of a country that occupies the third worst position according to the index of the most difficult countries to do business in.

Productivity, when carried out responsibly, is a pillar for the well-being and sustainable future of our communities, and we want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to society, the environment and to constructive dialogue to find solutions that benefit us all.