This research aims to understand in depth the coffee conservation agriculture experience that has taken place in the Rio La Vieja (La Vieja micro-basin), in the municipality of Caicedonia in Valle del Cauca, since 2010. This micro-basin supplies the aqueduct that finally, it provides the drinking water service to the municipal capital.To do this, the experience is methodologically systematized in dialogue with community and institutional actors who have actively participated in this commitment to social, economic and ecological sustainability that emphasizes water resources. From a conceptual framework, the categories of water uses; territory, community and roots; technology transfer; and public policy. From a background framework, the categories of inherited knowledge; institutional presence; and decision making. Both frameworks have provided a benchmark for analysis that allows the experience to be situated in relation to its contributions, obstacles and learning, which account for its most determining factors.Thus, the systematization of the experience focuses on the compilation of lessons learned during the different phases that were identified during the investigation. This is based on the analysis of the perceptions of the different actors involved regarding the achievements, difficulties and opportunities for improvement, in contrast to the triangulation of testimonial results with documentary sources.