CoopCoffees in Ethiopia - Birthplace of Coffee

Praying for Rain

We scheduled our 2008 Ethiopia trip to coincide with the early harvest... and the opportunity to see the actual washing and drying processes at the primary cooperatives. But because of the prevailing lack of rain, coffee cherries have refused to ripen and the harvest has been delayed by as much as two months in many regions! So it looks like another interesting year ahead with Ethiopia... between the drought, a precarious supply of petroleum for transport, and the recently announced “modernization” of the coffee export market (with new norms and operating regulations launched just as the export season opens), all bets are off on how or when the 2008 – 2009 export season will actually begin.     

In addition to the late start, most regions are estimating up to a 40% decrease in overall production... again due to climate change. The lack of rainfall during the flowering season caused many regions to lose one of the three flowerings natural to the coffee shrub. Cooperatives at elevations below 1,800 meters were particularly affected.

Below is brief summary of the sights and sounds, as well as few of the savory smells and flavors, we encountered along this fascinating journey: across arid stretches of the great Rift Valley; into the lush coffee regions of Sidamo and Yirgacheffee; past fields of rocky, volcanic "blister" in the Awash National Park; cutting through herds of cattle and through herds of camels; greeted throughout by cheerful waving and broad smiles from the incredibly hospitable Ethiopian people.

Stops Along the Coffee Trail

From Addis Ababa to the town of Yirgacheffee (our base-camp for the next four days of coop visits) it is a long, hot drive through the Rift Valley. We were happy to stop along the way to sample the local fare of Shiro sauces, Lamb bit ("tibs) on injera bread, strong coffee, and the unexpected treats - such as avocado smoothies - a specialty in the town of Awasa.

Finally in the coffee regions, we were able once again to focus on the business at hand. At every stop, we heard the repeated concerns about the climate. Our parting words inevitably were: "We are inspired by your efforts; we will pray that rains fall upon your fields."

 At Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (OCFCU) member coops Kilenso Mokanisa and Kilensa Resa, we witnessed the very first baskets of cherry coming into the washing stations. But many other coops in the region were not yet so fortunate. They are still waiting to begin their season.  

Founded in 1980, Kilenso Mokanisa currently has 1,612 very motivated members. Last year Mokanisa producers received $1.42/lb plus an end of year dividend of .16 per pound – the highest price their producers have ever seen. In addition, Mokanisa has been able to construct a primary school in three of their four communities regions and to dig two water wells from their Fair Trade premiums. They are currently saving up to construct a primary school in the remaining community.

For the first time in their history, Mokanisa says they no longer have financial difficulties to bringing in the harvest. “Thanks to OROMIA Union and the founding of the OCFCU Cooperative bank, we can get the kind of credit we need and when we need it,” says Mokanisa Chairman Galigalo Dube. “This has had a huge positive impact on our coop. In the past we had to borrow from the commercial banks, but they would never pay on time...  the private buyers would use their influence to get banks to slow down payments to cooperatives and they would move in to buy the first months’ worth of our farmers' cherry.”

Producing excellent quality “Yirgacheffe-type” Sidamo – at elevations of 1,800 to more than 2,000 masl – cooperative leaders feel confident that once the cherries start coming off the trees, they will be able to approach the export levels of last year. 

At nearby Kilenso Resa an enthusiastic Producer Board was waiting to meet with us and to show us their facilities and the early fruits of their labours.

The cooperative was established with 300 members in 1998. Since then membership has grown to 1178 farmers in 24 villages producing between 10 and 15 containers of classical Sidamo-type organic coffee.

Kilenso Resa Chairman Desta Udo says that with Fair Trade they have made positive steps forward – but to truly see improvements in their farmers’ standards of living – there is still a very long way to go. “The coop has been getting stronger,” Udo said. “Prices are improving and our members are able to make improvements to their homes. Our children now go to school. We have some 1,400 children in elementary schools in each of their three regions... and we have built a central high school. In the future, we hope to construct two more elementary schools – in order to bring schools closer to outlying villages.”

Clean water and improvements to the roads are the next big priorities.

“With only one well in their region, most farmers drink straight from the springs,” Udo explained. “As a result many people are getting sick with amoebas and giardia. And if it had been raining, you would have seen what we mean about the roads – you would not have arrived here because of the terrible conditions.”

En route back to Yirgacheffee town, we stopped at Buudaa Magaadaa, a new coop formed in 2007 under the OCFCU umbrella. Buudaa Magaadaa is currently installing an Ecological washing station – provided to the coop with collaboration Dutch Government grants and Trabocca Organics and from the Ethiopian Government and OCFCU – to reduce water use. As the final touches were being made on the installation, the producers were keen to see the plant in action and have great expectations with the harvest fast approaching. As a new coop, they are still working on both organic and FLO certifications.

 Next stop Negele Gorbitu: Founded in 1995, the coop is now comprised of nearly 1,000 producers. At 1,960 meters above sea level, Negele Gorbitu is in a prime location to produce a classical Yirgacheffee with good citrus tones and the characteristic bergamot finish. The coop operates two washing stations and consistently turns out high quality coffee.  

Of all the coops we visited, only Ferrona Akababi – member of Sidamo Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (SCFCU) in the northern-most region of Sidamo – appeared well into their harvest.

This year, Ferro began purchasing cherry on Oct 24^th (the earliest we heard of in all Ethiopia) and expect to bring in 20 trucks of washed coffee and 10 trucks of unwashed coffee fit for export.

Incentives offered by the coop - such as a second payment beyond what the local "privates" can offer, mid-year credits extended to producers to help them get through the "lean months" and transportation offered to members in case of medical emergency to the nearest clinic (more than an hour drive) - factor in to farmers' enthusiasm to be part of a coop.

Ferro Coop farmers bring cherry directly to their central wet mill when they live within a few hours walk. Otherwise – farmers will bring cherry in to one of several established substations where the coffee is weighed and receipts given. Each step of the way, coffee is evaluated for quality, and the appropriate sorting and separation occurs.

From the southern regions of Sidamo and Yirgacheffee we trekked across Awash plains to the region of Harar. Against the backdrop of this arid region, we were struck by the colorful contrast of flowing scarves and skirts - bright yellows, orange, greens and blue punctuating the landscape. Here in one of the few moslem enclaves of the Oromo people, life looks a little more challenging.

The overall lack of water is a primary concern. But a close second is the the destructive transition from coffee to chate production. 

Chate is a shrub which grows in full sun and is harvested three times per year.  The leaves are chewed and swallowed producing an almost hallucinogenic effect.  Many coffee farmers are converting their traditional shade plots of coffee to chate because it brings in more money on the local and international markets. Chate is in high demand in east Ethiopia,  both to supply local "chate rooms" and to supply nearby countries like Yemen looking to import additional product from Ethiopia.

Our meeting at the Ilillii Daraartu cooperative in Harar was imperative. Without seeing the daily challenges facing Harar farmers, it would have been impossible to suggest realistic alternatives. 

We witnessed the environmental impact on a Daraartu farm cultivated with both chate and coffee. Due to the lack of nitrogen fixing shade trees, the coffee shrubs are suffering. We spoke at length with Daraartu Chairman Mamet Ali Adem about our desire to assist Harar farmers maintain their coffee. But in this extremely impoverished area, we must also understand that this will only happen if we can offer a price for coffee that is competitive to the price they receive for chate. At the same time, we need farmers' commitments to carefully pick, select and process their beans. We all understand that we cannot sell coffee for premium prices if we are offering less than premium quality. 

But at the site of the Ilillii Daraartu Cooperative a quality landmark change is taking place in Harar . Traditionally, coffee is picked off the shrub when it is red wine color and placed on raised drying beds.  It will remain here until fully dried (15-25 days) then it will rest until ready to leave community.  At this point, a large mortar and pestle is used to break off the dried cherry from the green bean - and in the process come the flat, smashed, partially broken beans!  Now, with the support of the Dutch Government (in conjunction with Trabocca), Ethiopian Government, and OCFCU, a new electric huller and grader is being installed into a new warehouse facility recently constructed.  We visited the site and the space is large enough to handle more than just the Illili Deratu members.  All OCFCU member coops in Harar will have access to this huller and warehouse.

Here we had a very good talk about Fair Trade and quality...  and what that means to Cooperative Coffee’s members.  We successfully set into motion a quality incentive proposal for the members of the Illili Daraatu Cooperative.  We look forward to our first batch of Harar coffee in 2009!

Before heading to the regions, we had the opportunity to meet with the producer unions YCFCU, SCFCU and OCFCU in their Addis Ababa offices. We heard about their efforts, their achievements and their challenges... so we should have been mentally prepared for the situations we encountered in the field. But with a generalized lack of clean drinking water, limited access to basic health care and education, and an average income per capita of less than $1 per day - Ethiopia continues to be classified as one of the world’s poorest counties. Despite the good prices high-quality Fair Trade and organic coffees have been fetching in recent year – the tasks ahead to bring palpable change to coffee growing regions remain daunting.

Stop after stop in the countryside, we heard about the challenges farmers face this year.... and were impressed with the positive and enthusiastic reception from everyone we met along the way. In the following pages and in coming months’ newsletter, you will be sure to see more and more mention of CoopCoffees and member roasters direct action in Ethiopia!

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