One Farmer, One Roaster project manager Tekle Mammo

(A guest post by Seife Tuuloskorpi of Ethiopian Beans about a project he is working on in Ethiopia. Read more about our partnership here, and please email us if you are interested in buying this coffee!)

Tekle Mammo has been working with coffee growers all his life. He has taken the initiative on a project he calls “One Farmer, One Roaster”. He started this project last year together with Yirgacheffe union by convincing three small farmers in Yirgacheffe to take a loan and invest in hand pulp machines for washed coffee.

Hand pulper for washed coffee. 80kg of red cherries takes 15 min to pulp.By investing in a hand pulp a small farmer like Olke Bire produce micro lot of 30 bags All cherries comes from his back yard and the whole family is involved in the coffee processing.By producing this excellent micro lot of 30 bags, Olke Bire sold his coffee directly to a micro roaster that paid him far better prices than he would get on the local market.With the profit Olke Bire made from the last crop, he has invested in a water hole in his back yard -- so now he and his family don't have to walk 3km to have fresh water!

This year, 16 farmers in Yirgacheffe have been inspired by Olke Bire’s success and are investing in hand pulpers. Seeing this reminds me why I started working with coffee– this is the real deal, noy aid but empowerment… I am glad to support the project “One Farmer, One Roaster.” What a Beauty!

Project facts:

Union: Yirgacheffee

Current crop: 16 farmers

Process: 3 sun dried, 13 washed

Area: Each farmer has 4 – 12 hectares

Average volume green beans: 50 bags (60kg each).

Altitude: between 1700-2300

Districts: Yirgacheffe, Kochore, Wonago, Gedeb

–Seife