Every time the community raises the question of coffee beans, the demand for coffee has enforced the farmers to grow other multipurpose trees as coffee plants need shade, which further contributes towards the well being of the environment. In all the areas where we see coffee, the presence of trees is mandatory. Some of the successful farmers who are known to grow and manage coffee are indicated in the following paragraphs.

Mohammad Saido



Mohammad Saido is another successful farmer in the area of coffee production. This farmer was a settler who came to the area in 2003. The land was eroded and bare, with infertile soil, making it very difficult to assume the survival of any living things. In the process of time, Mohammed was given with different trainings and inputs that enabled him to restore the fertility of the soil, which encouraged him to be a small scale coffee producer. Like any other farmer, he is also interested in growing coffee not only as a source of income but also for his own personal diet in addition to his community. It is believed by the community that coffee gives them courage and determination to perform all their duties.

Bacha Geneti



Bacha Geneti is another farmer who stayed in the area working in a state farm of the previous Derg regime earning very little, thus with a low standard of living. “I woke up from my deep sleep” said Bacha,” because the land is here, I was here for long period time but without any change.” The training given to him and his family as well as the inputs provided like coffee seedlings & vegetable seeds gave him the courage and he now developed a small coffee farm.  ( picture-4 with his wife)

Dereje Motuma



Dereje Motuma is a farmer who lives  in Belo central village of Sasiga . He was trained in making compost,  production and management of coffee, and on how to establish a small private plant nursery. Derege was a person earning a very small income by working as a laborer. The skills transferred to him by the project helped Derege to be a good farmer and producer of different agricultural products. Production of coffee became his common activity. This year, he sold coffee for 250 Ethiopian birr and the rest he kept for his family’s consumption. The coffee picked from his coffee plants is found on a plastic sheet in front of his main house.

Olkeba



Olkeba is a farmer living in the project area called Kersa Mojo village of Sasiga.  He developed a private coffee nursery which reflects the impact of the project. This person had land, but neither the awareness, idea nor knowledge to work on coffee. Olkeba was invited to participate on farmers’ day and got a chance to visit model farmers who were known to produce coffee. On that day, a panel discussion was held, which convinced Olkeba that this time next year, it would be his turn to be a model farmer. As he determined to himself, he became the best model farmer on the following year!  He worked on coffee production as indicated in the picture. The operational areas farmers and government officers from the District and Zonal Agricultural offices participated on the farmer’s day and greatly appreciated Olkeba. This and other private coffee nurseries of the farmers ensure that the skill that had been transferred by the project correctly and thus confirms the sustainability of the project within those communities.

Abdi Shaf



Abdi Shafi  is also another successful farmer who was visited at different times by farmer nearby and guests from far places (his wife pictured)

Coffee making in the local context

Coffee drinking is considered as part of a diet and a basic need in the rural community. A farmer/family going to his farm without drinking coffee cannot perform his farm activities well as without it, confusion, headaches or sleep disorders occur. In the rural community, there are some students who will not go to school or may not fulfill their domestic obligation such as tending to cattle without coffee. This confirms that coffee is very important for the communities, and the demand for coffee is very high. Culturally, when a stranger passed through these communities, coffee is the first thing the local hosts would offer their guest. It is under similar conditions that the following pictures were taken from a farmer’s family making coffee and the steps and procedures are indicated below.



As the project officers working with the community, one day we (project staff) entered Dereje’s Motuma house when his wife was preparing coffee. We interviewed her on the procedures and steps to be followed in making coffee for her family. While working on the coffee, she responded by saying it is cultural to prepare coffee for a guest coming from a distant place.,



“The first step is to separate the coffee beans from their cover by either grinding them on a stone or crush them in a wooden box.  The separated coffee beans are washed using pure water and will be roasted for a while  in an oven dish. The coffee after being roasted will be crushed until it gets soft. Finally crushed coffee beans are added to boiled water. Coffee is prepared and ready to be drunk.”



They then called the people in their neighborhood as it is indicated in the photos. When the family was asked about the importance of calling the neighbors to drink coffee, they said that it is a forum where they discuss various social issues, such as who is ill, who went away, and the like. It is also a forum where the community makes decisions on community participation and other local activities and issues.

Thanks to the hard work of the families and with  the deliberate contributions of the Ethipoian Government and international donations the targeted communities of the project areas are progressing and have started generating income from their coffee farm besides their household consumption. Due to this fact, the majority of the targeted communities are always eager to get coffee beans to use at their own private plant nursery, even though coffee beans have become very expensive from research centers. The project has planned to continue to work hard to make the area coffee productive and that the income generated from the  sales would improve the living standard of the communities. The more coffee plantation spread in the community, the greater biodiversity will be there as various species of trees will be grown to meet the demand for shade by the coffee plants themselves.

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