Reflections on the Copenhagen Producer Crossover - Five Months On.

Copenhagen, June 26th this year. Our bi-annual congregation of our producer and roaster community had a bold and clear goal: to shape our next ten years together. Ten years ago, we had a dream too - to make direct trade possible for roasters of any shape and size. And it’s come true in ways beyond our imagination. Somehow it was revolutionary to open up value chains completely, and the connections that entered these chains left right and center formed a community of not just roasters and growers, but development and government agents, facilitators, designers, artists, bankers and fans who have formed under an umbrella of such a simple vision that we are often puzzled that it’s not the norm yet: to forget the strange rules under which coffee normally operates, disregard the strange structures that emerged to replace real conversations and real faces - and just be nice, be honest, be human to everyone we rely on to make our businesses thrive.

So now, ten years later, with our community all together, hosted by our old friend Francesco Impallomeni at Nordic Roasting Co, we asked them to guide our next decade together. How can we expand what we did up to today to amplify our dream not just in specialty, but in the whole coffee world? What would an ideal coffee world even look like? We framed the question along the two basic drivers of future behaviour - fear and trust. What would the coffee world look like in ten years if fear would be the dominant emotion, and what if trust would guide the future? Fear leads to ever more complex structures of mistrust, control, greed - and the domination of people and of natural resources. We are well on our way to this future today, but the secret is of course that the way to the second future is through confronting our fears, because in them lie the seeds of the opportunities to turn them around. When we know our main fears as a value chain community, we can use our unique talents and privileges to make a new, shared dream come true.

The Morning : Fear and Trust

Concretely, we started by asking what everyone’s biggest fear is around the future of three parts of the value chain: coffee farming, trade and roasting. Climate change won most votes in the realm of farming, but can you guess the crowd’s greatest fear around both trade and roasting? Market consolidation. Of all the grave issues out there, and all across the value chain, we are most afraid of ever larger and centralised companies acquiring too much power and dictating all the rules of the trade.

We spent the morning brainstorming over possible solutions, in groups divided into Producers, Traders and Roasters. The The solutions of the one group were then presented to the next group so they could think of how to support them. Producers looked into how they could use their unique talents and privilege to tackle climate change (their main fear), and then roasters were asked to think about how they could support them in their solutions. Traders made solutions to counter Big Coffee’s power and roasters were asked how to support them. Roasters’ main fear was also market consolidation, but we chose their second fear of how they could keep adding value long term as their brainstorm topic. Producers were then asked to review their solutions and see how they could support them. What we achieved was that the crowd got used to thinking with, for and as each other, and to reaching out to less likely parts of the value chain. Most importantly, the morning was a safe space to be vulnerable about our fears and at the same time step out of our daily realities to think about how to solve each others’ problems. The information and insights acquired were numerous and have already started guiding our future in many ways - too many for the scope of this post. For anyone interested, here is a link to the raw data that was collected through these focus groups (Miro board, work in progress).

Interestingly, It turns out that since 2023, we have been working on exactly a solution that addresses our community’s main fear, we just didn’t see how significant it was until the Crossover. Ease of access to cheap money is simply the main strength that corporates have over us, so what we need is a common supply of “good” capital that can counter the power of the banks and traders - or at least that allows us to grow steadily without the possibility of being bought or brought to our knees financially looming over our shoulders constantly. More, much more about this topic later…

The Afternoon : The Chinese Box

The next thing we wanted to do is test the fear / trust switch within our value chains in real time. In the morning we proposed that to make an impact as a specialty coffee community, we need to stop thinking just about our own specialty bubble and start thinking of ways to come together and infiltrate the broader coffee drinker’s world with specialty coffee values. 

With a small macro-economic introduction by Karl Wienhold about the concentration of power with large roasters, we posited that solutions and new ideas should be aimed at diffusing this centralised power. One way to diffuse this power is to move the act of roasting for non-specialty to origin, but another way would be to move it onward to the consumer. I then grabbed a small box with Chinese letters on it and opened it - it was a very simple but skilfully made drum roaster from China, without airflow, only with an adjustable heat lamp under the glass drum and adjustable drum speed. Most participants at this point looked around and asked themselves if this is really what we are going to talk about all afternoon. Although our team had thought a lot about this topic at this point, we made a conscious choice not to try to convince anyone of how such a cheap but decent roaster could be an opportunity, but rather wanted to capture everyone’s first thoughts and emotions. Five months later, we can give some more context though.

It is often forgotten that little over a century ago, home roasting was the norm for many coffee drinkers. Not just for Ethiopians, but for households across Europe and North America outside of café culture. It was common for streets to be filled with the scent of freshly roasted coffee, and there was pride in making a decent roast. Not the kind of pride that professionals have, but the kind that I suppose Italian grandmothers have about making their staple dishes. Their family tradition, their own little twist. Nowadays though, the specialty market associates home roasting with coffee fanatics with money and time to spare. A weird little niche that is more of a nuisance to importers than anything to take seriously….

But what if the price of a roasting machine would plunge from between 600 and 4000 euro to between 100 (stovetop version) to 150 (electric version) euro? Interestingly, this was the original mission of the IKAWA Smart Home Coffee Roaster System- to make a machine that families would have in their kitchen, and a marketplace of small bags of greens traceable to the individual farm. The problem was that they could not get the price down for such a complex machine to a level that could appeal to non-connaisseurs… or perhaps the time wasn’t right. But for 100 to 150 euro, could we recapture that lost market segment from a few generations ago in a modern world? People who care about coffee and good values, cannot afford or are unwilling to pay specialty prices, but are prepared to spend 2 hours every two weeks to roast their coffee, explore and roast a wide variety of single origin greens that, with a little training, taste better than anything available at the supermarket, but for the same price?

Without concerted effort between the whole value chain, for sure the answer would be no. And as of today, no one is pushing a home roasting chain collaboration because the tiny perceived scale for individual stakeholders - and perhaps because of fears many didn’t even know they had. In our groups, we detected a sometimes rigid, almost technocratic perception of quality - there were looming fears in the room of the degradation of the craft of coffee roasting if home roasting caught on…

But by moving from our fears to viewing this Chinese box through the lens of opportunity, interesting discussions emerged in all three mixed groups. Outright dismissiveness in some cases transformed to bold ideas and out of the box thinking. Our Kenyan and Tanzanian partners proposed to provide such a machine to local hotels, bars, offices, communities and sell their greens to them - today you can usually only get instant coffee there. Specialty roasters might at first think they’d be sidelined, but most who can afford specialty coffee don’t have time to roast and more importantly, in terms of quality and price, this new segment would compete with the supermarket, not them - In that sense, beans roasted by a noob but sourced traceably are better for the world than anything the supermarket could offer. Also, most importers don’t have the time or resources to cater to home roasters with requests of 1 or 5 kilos of greens - roasters on the other hand would not only have the greens and the small packages handy, but would finally have a chance to explain basic roasting to a customer audience who will likely have more respect for the intricacies of their craft. And if they really want the good stuff, craft roasted coffees would now be more visible to a market segment that would otherwise never notice them. For importers, a thriving home roasting segment would mean an outlet for the dreaded “85”s, the coffees that cost as much as an 87 point coffee to produce but are worth as much as an 83 to roasters. For the home roaster who wants traceability but not the highest quality, these beans are perfect.

Our Conclusions

Even if we never embrace low entry home roasting, we thought it was a great test case to look at some important quirks in the specialty coffee business - if nothing else, we brought to the surface that a rigid attitude towards quality could severely limit the scale of our global endeavour. As Coffee Intelligence states, quality is much more than what the experts tell people it is. Hence, we ended the day by stating once again that if we want change, we need to look beyond the small playing field in which we operate today and start using our collective creativity to do radically new things and learn to speak to a broader or different consumer base. If there is one thing that Big Coffee understands, it’s how to play into the sensitivities, desires and impulses of the average consumer. Yet in an age of AI and algorithm driven data, there will be more and more people looking for genuine stories, true connections, authenticity, and might perhaps even give up some convenience.

We are confident that chain-wide collaborations of any sort, based on trust and solidified through time, can undermine the centralised power of Big Coffee, which our community overwhelmingly pointed to as their main fear for the future. If last decade was about the journey to know everyone in the value chain, the next decade will test what we do with these relationships. We are ready now to move to creating a deeper, active sense of trust, one that guides us in creatively tackling our wicked problems together.

This was exactly what the rest of the beautiful and sunny Scandinavian day was spent on: being together. Talking and bonding over pizza and beers until the sun set on one of the longest days of the year. It was a joy to occasionally stand back and observe the laughs, the smiles, the unlikely introductions and the deep connections that this event generates every time. It’s in these personal and genuine interactions that true value chains are forged, and where we get a glimpse of a coffee future in which trust, not fear, sets the stage.

This Side Up and the EUDR - tackling the new EU deforestation law.

It’s the talk of the town. Europe wants all coffee coming into the continent to come from land that is not deforested. Overall, by far the largest carbon footprint of coffee is the (often native) forest that was sacrificed to produce it, so the EU stepped up and decided to police the felling of trees.

Here’s what we think about it - and what we’re doing about it.

What is admirable is that it is a reflection of a growing global consciousness. There is a growing realisation that reforesting the world is one of the main plights of our time, so much so that all the scientific research and activism has finally reached the stuffy and bureaucratic upper echelons of the EU. Even nicer is that Big Coffee is pooping itself over this because it means a lot more focus on traceability - which they can’t offer without turning their business models upside down. They claim that getting the data will cost millions and are gathering their best lawyers to counter or get around the requirements.

What we don’t like is that it’s yet another top-down demand from the North that adds both work and costs to a product that is already underpriced. Moreover, when you understand the destructive agricultural subsidy practices the EU applies to its own farmland, the hypocrisy of laws that police deforestation in lower income countries make us cringe. Did you know that a farmer in the EU does not get paid subsidies if their land is not in “agricultural condition”? In the words of George Monbiot:

“This doesn’t mean that it must produce food: you can take the full payment in some nations without delivering a single ear of wheat or litre of milk. It means it must be almost bare. If it harbours what the rules call “ineligible features”, and the rest of us call wildlife habitats - such as regenerating woodland, unglazed marshes, ponds and reedbeds - it is disqualified from the main source of subsidies: the EU’s basic payments scheme. Destruction is not an accidental outcome of the subsidy regime, it is a contractual requirement.” 

And that’s not all. Because the law does not stipulate any standard of how to measure deforestation, it paves the way for scamming both in origin and by large coffee companies. Granted, it is hard to set a standard for many reasons, including how to differentiate trees planted for logging from deforestation - but these issues should at least be stipulated before announcing a new law… An example of what could happen in origin is that organisations like cooperatives will point out their exemplary members who conform to the legislation and export all coffee through them on paper. On the corporate side, the algorithm used to measure deforestation can be programmed to look the other way. Like what we’re seeing in the voluntary carbon market, when everyone makes their own rules the propensity for abuse and greenwashing becomes close to 100%.

But most importantly, the worst way to stop farmers from deforesting is by ceasing to trade with them and make them even more reliant on alternative sources of income such as illicit crop production, mining or simply moving away to cities (slums). We see traders and large coffee companies already starting to boast that they will conform to the new legislation because of some in-house sustainability program that directs who gets to trade with them. Let’s say they actually use legit ways of measuring deforestation, they will pride themselves for ruling out trade with even more people at the very bottom of the pyramid.

Nonetheless, we are a part of the EU and decided to see this law as an opportunity to promote the cornerstones of our business model: relationships and transparency. We have three pillars that we are expanding on. 

1. take a proactive role in measuring deforestation.

   We partnered with 52Impact and created an algorithm that can measure deforestation accurately. That was tested on Colombia and we are gathering all the coordinates of all our other partners to scan their land too, with their consent of course. We want to show that if you buy traceably from partners (of all sizes) you can rely on, getting this done is cheap, fast and easy. No excuses for Big Coffee. 

2. never substitute technology for a conversation.

   There can be 50 reasons why someone cuts down forest and we have to be receptive to all of them. Even if it means going to court once the legislation is enforced, we will not stop buying from our partners just because they cut down some trees - before listening to them.

3. add carrot to the stick.

   If you can measure deforestation, you can measure reforestation as well. We will increase our regenerative premiums to whoever can show more canopy and if our partners want, help them get access to the carbon market (that we are ambiguous about to say the least).

So far our opinions, stance and rants! We’re excited to know how others will react to the EUDR and are keen to help others develop their policies, create standards and measurement techniques. All the work we do with 52Impact is open source and can be replicated easily. Get in touch if you want to know more!

Serious Farmers - An Origin Trip to India

On our website we state that we “partner with serious farmers” and that anyone who is just a coffee farmer because there are few other possibilities should do all to get out of it as soon as they can. My trip to India two weeks ago proved this point more than I could have known. 

One evening in the kitchen, we were having a heated talk about impact. Akshay was convincing me that they were NOT making any impact. The community farmers they buy from could just as well sell their coffee to local traders for roughly the same price (now that the market is up) and they themselves are just dreamers who want to put Indian coffee on the map and make the most of their farm as an R&D project, knowing it will never be truly financially viable…  

The delegation that Komal and Akshay invited alone was “serious”. Dr. Aaron Davis, probably the world’s leading coffee biologist, Luke Adams, Standart Magazine’s Editor in Chief, Charles Denison, coffee consultant, importer, roaster and racemosa grower (rare coffee species in South Africa), Mathew Orchard, co-founder of PLOT coffee roasters in the UK and Matteo Pavoni of Peacock Coffee Roasters and runner up Italian Barista Champion last year with Komal and Akshay’s Excelsa.

Komal and Akshay are not average coffee farmers. They made their careers in London with a fashion brand and a tech company respectively, but moved back to Coorg three years ago. Akshay’s family have been coffee “planters” (estate holders) for five generations and Akshay inherited 75 acres of Mooleh Manay (“the corner house” in the Coorg language). Since then, they have been researching, testing and upgrading the farm at a speed I have never seen before, much more akin to the startup mindset than that of an average coffee estate whose values and methods slowly evolve from generation to generation. 

Their achievements in these few years are impressive. They are active on social media, set up an import business to the UK, sell coffee to local specialty coffee shops and work closely with the surrounding estates and tribal communities, whom we have proudly put on the map in Europe together.

In terms of role division, Komal is the power house behind the farm’s operations, finances, staff management, communication and marketing, while Akshay designs and upgrades the farm’s processing methods, farm layout (including the fertilisation, shade management, breeding, pruning and weeding methods) and uses almost every remaining waking hour of his days to research his newest passion: crossing rare coffee species (excelsa, stenophyla, liberica, eugenoides, racemosa, travencorensis)  with arabica and robusta for increased climate resilience and productivity. Listening to Akshay talk about coffee genetics with Dr. Davis, it seemed like they were colleagues working together for a decade… 

At Srirangalli with Ganesh (centre), the community leader.

So why do it if they’re not making any impact? Akshay’s response: to create a model farm that requires minimal labor and maximum outturn of high quality coffee while keeping the biodiverse agroforestry system in place. There’s an unpopular goal… minimal labour… Aren’t we in coffee development to give a chance for rural livelihoods to flourish, to give meaningful employment to as many people as possible?

The more I learn from our partners around the world it seems that this might be a pipe dream. Coffee growers who have no other opportunities such as the ones we work with in Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Myanmar and Indonesia should be supported with higher prices and stable cooperatives or export partners, sure. But what happens when these communities become better off? It is unlikely that we will stop the mega trend of farmers leaving their low-income rural lives and encouraging their kids to move to cities - and we shouldn’t, in many cases. So who will be left to produce our coffee in 30 years, and how? Our network is full a rare breed of crazy, we would say developmental entrepreneur, usually with some sort of hereditary link to coffee, that moves back from the city to farm or start export businesses - out of passion. For years they make losses, just like any startup. But in the meantime they start creating ripple effects around them by connecting farmers to better farming ways and specialty processing - but most importantly, to the world.

Lowering labour requirements for coffee can be done two ways. The first we all know, by intensifying. The Brazilian route. The second one is less known but way more sustainable, by going “high tech regenerative”, where fewer hands are necessary because of smarter farm management. What is interesting about Akshay and Komal’s approach is that it is not based on a romantic view of conservationism. Yes, they want to keep their beautiful biosphere in tact, but they figured out that costs are simply lowest when working with, not against nature. There is nothing more efficient than a forest in turning light and water into nutrients and nothing more robust, but we are only beginning to understand exactly how these complex systems actually work - to mimic them and create the low cost conditions in which nature regenerates itself requires knowledge, patience and investment - before it starts paying off. But, combined with a cutting-edge view on increasing yield, i.e. smart cross-species grafting and the planting of the most fitting hybrids, it seems Mooleh Manay might be on to a climate-proof model that could stand the worst shocks Indian coffee will have to endure in the next years: climate change and labour shortage.

That conversation in the kitchen kept going for a while, and slowly it became clear that the view on impact that Akshay calls realism and what Komal downplays are both accents of that same trait that all truly integer people share: humility and not wanting to make anything sound better than it is. But the fact is they are doing groundbreaking stuff, and are gathering the world’s brightest minds to help them realise their dreams. Best of all, everything they do is made to be shared: with surrounding estates and farmers, and broader, with any farmer and professional around the world who wants to hear it. 

So how do we make impact? By getting Komal and Akshay and their friends’ coffees to enough places so these crazy entrepreneurs can keep creating ripple effects around them. We couldn’t be prouder to support these serious farmers, and to do our part in carving out a serious future for Indian coffee…

Roasters, will you join us?

The Year It Dangerously Rained

Mother nature hasn’t been kind to many coffee growers in Indonesia these last few years. The effect of climate change and freak weather patterns has never felt so impactful and detrimental to many livelihoods in coffee.

Case in point, the year 2022 was the second wettest year ever recorded in Indonesian history. The Indonesian meteorology agency recorded 129% more precipitation than the normal average expected for a normal year. The result was higher intensity rain, a prolonged wet season and, in some areas, the absence of a dry season altogether. Some of these areas coincidently are coffee growing origins that we work closely with. 

Our farmer partners in Flores, Toraja, and Central Java, to name a few, all reported their struggles and predicament in facing unpredictable rain affecting their coffee harvest. Their stories were not pretty.”

Farmer from Flores, one of the most affected areas this year.

What happened?

Last year, Indonesia recorded an average rainfall level of 2500 mm. In general, coffee tends to produce well in areas of moderate average rainfall of around 1400-1800 mm. Less than that range coffee plants will lack sufficient nutritions to grow but higher than that, the risks associated with normal coffee production also increases.

Higher than normal levels of rainfall could affect coffee production in more ways than one. For example, high intensity rain coupled with heavy storms especially early in the harvest cycle could destroy many flower blooms in the coffee plants. Flower blooms are important indicators of coffee yields because they turn into coffee fruits after the pollination phase. In short, more damaged bloom will result in more damaged coffee.

This blooming catastrophe was what happened in many parts of Toraja. Simon To’pa, a farmer in Buntu Ledo, told us that a heavy storm in early 2022 had brought hardships there. “We had many landslides, mud falls, erosions at that time,” pak Simon told us “..and the storm just destroyed our coffee flowers. Many of our plants were also flattened by fallen and flying objects''. Pak Simon and friends had it quite difficult for them, they reported a drop in harvest up to more than 60% compared to the previous year.

Not only quantity, but higher rainfall also affects the quality of coffee harvested. Lodovikus, head of ASNIKOM coop in Flores, told us “many of our coffee fruits were over-ripened too quickly in the trees. It will certainly ripen faster than we can anticipate in pickings because we could only do so much with our hands.”. As a result, some of these coffee were presented with higher than usual over-fermented beans and greatly reduced sweetness. 

Adding to the predicaments above, unpredictable heavy rain also posed a challenge in drying coffees. Many parts of Indonesia use a traditional open air drying method that relies on the sun for drying power. Unfortunately, many farmers and processors cannot rely on their past experiences for guidance, as the weather pattern was so unreliable that it was not uncommon to rain continuously for several days in peak dry season months of July and August.

“If we can’t predict when the rain will come, we can’t risk drying big batches of coffee out in the open”, said Cahyo, a processor and owner of First Light Coffee in Central Java. But keeping semi-dried coffee in bags also posed its own risks. Wet coffee that was temporarily stored before fully dried has a very big chance to be exposed to humidity, insects, and fungi, among other things. Therefore many farmers faced “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation in drying coffee properly because of it.

““If we can’t predict when the rain will come, we can’t risk drying big batches of coffee out in the open””

— Cahyo, processor and owner of First Light Coffee

Approaching rain in Flores.

What could be done.

Scientific wisdom has bare evidence that climate change has indeed accelerated. For many coffee growers and other farmers in general these are very bad times and even worse going forward. It’s not a hyperbole to suggest that we are all like passengers of an airplane that is going down.

However grim it may be, growers and farmers are one of the world’s oldest professions. They thrive and survive through adaptation and sheer ingenuity. We are collaborating with our coffee growing partners to make sure we could ride the storm better in the future, literally and figuratively. 

In Toraja, we believe that this is the time for designing a climate adaptation agroforestry model. An agroforestry model that protects from land erosion, improves the weather defense system, and introduces biodiversity into the coffee growing areas. The aim is to increase the population of bees for flower pollination as well as protecting it from heavy winds.

Meanwhile efforts have been put in place to assist our farmers and processors in Flores and Java in developing a weather-proof drying system. We believe the introduction of drying domes and improvement in harvesting standard operating procedures (SOPs) based on better statistics calculation could help our partners in mitigating the effects of weather in time of harvest.

However small these steps may be, it still needs collaborative efforts and support to achieve. Otherwise there might not be much future in coffee for many of our grower partners in the face of future storms.

Coffeea Travencorensis: one of India’s Native Coffee Species

Did you know India has its own native Coffea species? We at South India Coffee Company have been researching these native Coffea species over the last year. While the story of Baba Budan and his seven coffee beans is undoubtedly an important part of Indian coffee history, it is essential to recognize that coffee existed in India long before Baba Budan’s arrival. The native Indian coffee species, including Coffea Travencorensis, are not only a crucial part of India’s coffee heritage, but they also hold immense scientific and ecological value. It is our responsibility to protect and conserve these unique coffee species for future generations. In this blog, we will delve into the history, characteristics, and importance of preserving this unique coffee species.

THE HISTORY

According to Wight and Arn. Prodr. 1 , Coffea Travencorensis was first described in 1834 as an indigenous plant in the western region of India, specifically in the Travancore area (in the present-day Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.) The Indian coffee species, including Coffea Bengalensis, Coffea Travencorensis, and Coffea Deccanensis, are believed to be some of the oldest coffee species in the world. These native Indian coffee species are well adapted to the tropical climate of the Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of India.

PLANT ANATOMY

Coffea Travencorensis is a small shrub , and has stiff branches, slightly pubescent leaves, slender thickened nodes, flattened twigs, and brownish bark on younger twigs. The leaves are small, measuring 2.5cm to 3.75cm in length and 7.5cm to 10cm in width. The flowers are solitary or in threes, occasionally in fours, with five petals and a sweet fragrance similar to that of jasmine. The black fruit is broadly didymous and 0.83 cm in diameter (approximately) , and the plant blossoms from April to June — Wight and Arn. Prodr.(1843) 1st Flower Coffea Travencorensis

The leaf structures of C. Travencorensis are dark on top and lighter green below, and when dried, they turn pale and yellowish.

IMPORTANCE

The Coffea Travencorensis plant is of significant importance in India as it is listed as “Vulnerable” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2017. We at SICC have developed a species block for genetic research on Coffea species, with a particular focus on the Indian Native species . This block would allow researchers to study the genetic makeup of the plant and identify ways to preserve it. The research is ongoing on Coffea Travencorensis, where the 1st blossom is underway and we are closely observing its growth and development. This research will help us understand the ecological and genetic characteristics of this unique coffee species, which will help in conservation efforts and sustainable coffee farming practices.

The cultivation of Coffea Travencorensis is threatened by various factors, including climate change, habitat loss. It is important to promote the conservation and sustainable cultivation of this unique coffee species to ensure its survival for future generations.

Even though this species does not have commercial importance as of today, further research is necessry to fully understand its commercial viability.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the cultivation and preservation of Indian native Coffea species are essential to preserve the rich history of coffee in India. Coffea Travencorensis, a rare and vulnerable coffee species, is a prime example of the need to conserve and sustainably cultivate these species. As a coffee professional, it is exciting to be part of the effort to preserve Coffea Travencorensis, and we will keep updating this blog with further research and progression of these plants.

This article was also published in The South India Coffee Company webpage.

References:

• Wight, R. and Arn. C., Prodr. 1 (1834) Wight, R. and Arn. C., Prodr. (1843) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (2017).

• Coffea travencorensis. [online] Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/153045239/153045254\[Accessed 11 Apr. 2023]. Kew Gardens. (2023).

• Coffea travencorensis. [online] Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:747258-1 [Accessed 11 Apr. 2023].

Knowing who we are: an interview with Juan Pablo Lasso Argote

This Side Up, MVO Nederland, the GPDPD, and Argote Specialty Coffee joined forces in a unique partnership to create a training hub for farmers in Nariño - one of the most affected departments in Colombia by illicit crops presence -, with whom TSU has steadily built a trustworthy relationship over the years and which is close to an illicit drug crop cultivation area. The project aimed to offer a physical space for farmers to share knowledge, learn agroecological practices, and better use digital tools. The hub also attends to different problems in the region: soil deterioration, illicit coca harvesting, and equal opportunities for women. Last December, we spoke with Juan Pablo Argote, 44, managing director of Argote Coffees, who shared with us how this project started.

Juan Pablo Argote. Photo credit: Bas Clerkx

““Since I was very young I learned that with coffee nothing is short-term. Everything is a process that takes at least two years to develop.”
”

— Juan Pablo Lasso

• The training hub gathered four organisations with unique interests. MVO Nederland aims to assist farmers in becoming fully transparent through digital tools; TSU, a coffee importer that connects growers and roasters in a fair and short value chain, GPDPD works on behalf the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to address the challenges related to illicit drug crop cultivation and development; and Argote Coffees, a coffee producer in Nariño.

• From November 2021 to March 2022, twelve capacitors gathered for the first class. The sessions included biofertilizers (how to make them, why use them); international affairs (exportation procedures and paperwork, contract signing). At a fundamental level, the TCA use and purpose was taught: why is it essential to estimate the true cost of coffee?

• After one year and a half of only applying organic fertilisers to the 2,600 trees in the demo plot, next to the training hub, results become tangible. Trees maintained their productivity, and the soil became healthier. Farmers in the region see this and become curious.

Verónica Lasso Argote is the training hub manager.

How long has this centre been open?

Building began at the end of 2020 and was finished by April 2021.

What was taken into account when this space was built?

We accounted for the number of students who would attend, the space’s production and storage capacity, and we also left some space for new products. This hub was strategically built next to a coffee plantation. We did it like this so that we could use the plantation for practices. The first thing we did when this project started was to make the land entirely available to the project. We wanted to prove that organic fertiliser works, so we started by applying our product to the 2,600 trees on the plantation. We also created a vegetable plot demonstrating that organic fertilisers work on different crops. We additionally wanted to illustrate how the transition from chemical to organic fertilisers does not affect the trees.

How did the idea of the training hub come about? 

When my grandfather was young and worked in coffee, everything was done organically but still needed to be done professionally. Residue from the kitchen and coffee waste were usually applied to plants, but there were no studies on the elements that could improve these fertilisers. When my grandfather died, I found some notes that my grandfather made, and I spoke with my father about the benefits organic fertilisation could give us. He resisted at first, but then he gave in. Soon after, Lennart Clerkx, This Side Up founder, told us about the soil's benefits and the commercial benefits it could provide us. This is how we decided to do something for all the producers working with both Argote and us. 

Since the hub opened its doors in April, which activities have taken place?

We've worked with a group of trainers and hired an agronomist to teach various subjects. We also offer training in foreign affairs and the benefits of exporting to the international market. This group finished their course in March. We also gathered a group of students from the elementary school here in the village. This school pays special attention to coffee, and it seemed crucial to create a partnership with them. Besides this, the demo plot's positive results became visible to everyone, so farmers became interested in organic fertilisation. They approached us to learn how to make the fertiliser or were interested in buying some. 

““Chemical fertilisers are like drugs for plants. When the plant starts receiving chemical fertilisers it will always ask for more. The tree will only be productive if more is provided. Organic fertilisers (on the other hand) strengthen the tree and the soil. It facilitates the production of microorganisms.”
”

— Juan Pablo Lasso

What challenges do you face?

The main problem we have is that the hub stays mainly closed from June to November. Most farmers are very busy since it's the harvesting season. It is tough to gather people during this time, and we aim to stay open throughout the year. 

Tell me a little bit about these biofertilizers. What benefits do they have?

Well, these are formulas that are known worldwide. We adapted them a bit. What's more important is that these fertilisers are far more economical than chemical fertilisers and feed the tree and the soil. For example, a bag of 50 kilos of chemical fertiliser costs about 40 USD and is helpful for about 500 trees. With this 40 USD we can fabricate enough fertilisers for around 2,500 and make it last for about 6 months. 

What are the following plans for the centre?

We'll start with a new group of producers, but we mainly aim to attract people from other regions, especially those that work with illicit crops. We aim to become an alternative for farmers working with illicit crops. This hub is a way of saying, "Don't go: It is better to stay, make biofertilizers, and work with coffee". 

Can you tell me a little about the illicit crop situation in Nariño?

Although in Nariño there are crime organisations involved in drug trafficking and illicit drug crops, in Génova, there are no cartels. Some community members from this municipality work with coffee during the season and then travel to other regions to work with illicit crops. These farmers are now noticing that there are other alternatives, that they can also do their vegetable plot, and that they can support their family like this.

We commemorate Women’s Day by coming together!

Our role as middleman is not merely to bind the creators of green and roasted coffee to one another. Our role is to create a form of trade that is based on empathy - and no better way to create empathy than through conversation. For this special day, we wanted to talk about coffee, but from a women’s point of view. So we brought together women roasters and producers and invited them to ask questions to one another, in couples. TSU (or more specifically Milena) was the messenger: connecting four continents and all sides of the value chain.

Scroll down to read the conversations between Katja (Germany) & Maristela (Brazil), Gloria, Rosebella, Jane, Mary Tonjes (Kenya) & Isabelle (Belgium), Ellen (Brazil) & Sarah (Belgium) and Komal (India) & Charlotte (France).

Katja & Maristela

Maristela: How is your work with coffee in Europe? Is there any prejudice on the part of men?

Katja: I have worked in the European coffee industry in Germany, Spain, and the UK, and I was always lucky to work with very tolerant and respectful people, male and female. I haven't encountered much prejudice from men, but I am aware that plenty of women have other stories to tell. Men are 'louder' within the industry, and women often lack confidence. I do see changes in that area, though, and more confident women are taking their place in the spotlight.

Maristela: How does it feel to roast a coffee produced and prepared by female hands in Brazil or other parts of the world?

Katja: I take pride in working with strong women everywhere. I am aware that women's rights or even culturally informed gender role thinking poses real problems and challenges for women in many coffee-growing regions. I want to consciously work with female producers and ask questions about women's roles in producing the coffee that ends up on my table to make a positive difference over time.

Maristela: Do you only work with roasting or produce coffee too?

Katja: I run my own roasting business, and I have one (female) employee. We roast coffee and sell it to retail and wholesale customers. 

Maristela: For me, it's a pleasure to work with coffee. Today I'm known as a specialty coffee producer, and my work is known and valued through the Pioneer Northern Coffee Women project Paraná Brasil. I love working with coffee. Do you face difficulties? Are you valued for your work?

Katja: I have to admit I haven't tried your coffee yet, but I will make sure to ask for a sample next time I talk to the guys from TSU :) I share your love for working with coffee, though! There is always more to learn when it comes to this beautiful product. As for my experience working in this industry, personally, I have always felt valued and respected. Now that I work for myself, I get to have a more active say in who I work with, and if I ever do get the feeling that a customer or partner doesn't value or respect me, I can simply choose not to work with them. In most cases, though, you will be treated the same way if you treat others with respect and kindness. In your country, what are the main differences between a man working in the coffee sector and a woman working in the coffee sector? What kind of jobs are there for women? Is the pay different? Can you own land as a woman and run a business under your own name?

Maristela: Here in Brazil, the difference between the work of men and women coffee farmers is that women cannot handle heavy work, like lifting a bag of mature or processed coffee weighing 60 kilos. The work done by the women is the same as the men in the typical harvest, harvesting, working at the coffee washer and husker, in the yard, and in the processing of coffee preparations. The difference is that the men bear more weight and do the heavy work, which renders the service more…

And the value of the woman's work in the fields is a little less due to the issue of not being able to carry a lot of weight, but she knows how to do the same work that men do...

Today we can have our own piece of land with our name. It's our own business!

Katja: One thing I personally love about working in coffee is that there are so many things to learn - you never stop learning. Is there something you would like to learn about coffee?

Maristela: I know almost everything about coffee, from handling the harvesting plant to post-harvesting.

Katja: What do you think the differences are between a woman working in the coffee sector in a coffee-producing country and a woman working in the coffee sector in a coffee-consuming country?

Maristela: It is that right here, not holding up to the heavy work, we do it anyway, we give it a go and do the job, and you then receive the coffee ready to roast. You don't need to take so much weight. We also help our husband. Sometimes we have to do heavy work, especially during the harvest, it's very heavy, it's very tiring!

The North of the Rift Women in Coffee (Gloria, Susan, Dr. Rosebella, Jane and Mary Tonjes) & Isabelle.

NRWC: Do you face any kind of discrimination in the industry as a woman? 

Isabelle: As the founder of a coffee roasting company in Belgium, I quickly learned that the world of  entrepreneurship is far from easy. Being a female entrepreneur can present specific gender related challenges, but fortunately, I have not personally faced gender stereotypes. In Europe,  the cultural climate is more supportive of gender equality than in Africa. 

However, as a woman of African origin working in the coffee roasting industry in Europe, I  often feel like an outsider. Although there is a diversity of cultures in Europe, there is still a  lack of representation and visibility for women of color in the coffee roasting industry. This  lack of diversity can be isolating.  

Nevertheless, it is essential to recognize that discrimination is not the only factor limiting  success. The coffee industry is luckily unique in that it brings people together. I have been  fortunate to meet amazing people from all walks of life who have helped and supported me  on my entrepreneurial journey to this point. It is essential to remember that despite the  difficulties and potential discrimination, there are always people willing to help. 

In summary, the lack of diversity and representation of women can be daunting, but by  persevering we can contribute to a more inclusive coffee roasting industry in Europe and  beyond. 

NRWC: What inspired you to go to the coffee world? 

Isabelle: My professional aspirations have always been driven by a deep desire to bring positive change  to the world. While some may consider this idealistic, my experiences working with various  organizations, ranging from the UN to NGOs to the private sector, have given me an  understanding of the social and economic challenges facing many countries in Africa. 

However, it was during a social audit mission in 2011 with cotton farmers in Mali that my  commitment to supporting farmers was truly triggered. This experience fueled my desire to  support coffee producers, particularly those in my home country, the Democratic Republic of  Congo. 

Driven by my certainty, I decided to create my own coffee company in Europe to promote the  quality of African coffee while favoring ethical and ecological practices. 

Thus, in January 2023, I had the great honor of being chosen as the representative of the  Economic Interest Group of the network of coffee and cocoa producers' cooperatives in the  Democratic Republic of Congo, which has 93,000 members.  

This appointment is therefore a testimony to the trust they have placed in me.

For me, coffee is not just a drink, it is an essential part of my life that brings me back to  moments and memories of my childhood in the Kivu region. It is a daily ritual that I cherish  and reminds me to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, especially in these uncertain times. 

I fell into coffee a bit like Obelix. As a child, I used to sneak coffee because I was told it was  only for adults. These moments hold a special place in my heart and symbolize my carefree  childhood spent playing and laughing with my family. To this day, every cup of coffee I drink  takes me back to those moments and reminds me of the joy of those days of talking with my  loved ones. 

Having grown up in Virunga National Park, I also feel the connection between coffee and  wildlife. My father worked there for four decades; in the tents by the river, watching the sun  go down, we could drink coffee and hear the roar of the lions. The smell of coffee also takes  me back to the slopes of Sabinyo, where early in the morning we would brew coffee on the  kitchen floor while watching baby gorillas play in the distance. 

Coffee is more than a drink; it evokes a unique story in each person who tastes it. In my case,  it reminds me of the simple pleasures of life, the importance of spending quality time with  my loved ones, memories of my childhood and my attachment to nature. 

In fact, I didn't go into the coffee world, the coffee world came to me ☺

NRWC: What's your favourite coffee origin? 

Isabelle: As you may have already guessed, Congolese coffee.  

My passion for African coffee goes far beyond the drink itself. While the quality of the coffee  remains a priority for me, the richness of the stories and endearing testimonials that  accompany each cup is also what matters to me. 

Having experienced first-hand the painful events in eastern Congo, I deeply admire the  incredible resilience and determination of the coffee producers there. It takes immense  strength and courage to produce such a quality product in such difficult conditions. 

The Raek cooperative in Katana is an outstanding example. I am proud to talk to Anicet and  Désiré, the managers of the cooperative, and tell them how much their coffee is appreciated.  I beamed with pride as I told the story of a coffee lover who could not believe that his coffee  was Congolese because it tasted like Ethiopian coffee. 

Growing up in Kivu, the taste of coffee was as rich and comforting as the warmth of the sun.  Years later, even living in Brussels, that same flavour profile still appeals to me. So another of  my favourite coffees is Idjwi Island, which tastes similar because it is grown on the shores of  Lake Kivu. It instantly transports me and fills me with nostalgia. 

The coffee is grown by the SCNCPK cooperative, run by my friend Gilbert. It is a natural coffee  with notes of red fruits and nuts, a round mouthfeel and subtle acidity. 

The president of the cooperative, Gilbert, is a rare soul who gives a lot of his time and energy  to the coffee industry in Congo and who works for peace through his project, Coffee for Peace,  which focuses on the socio-professional reintegration of ex-combatants. 

NRWC: What inspires you to wake up every morning? 

Isabelle: Beyond my love for the beverage itself, what really inspires me is the connections that this  passion for coffee brings me. Through this simple pleasure, I have met some incredible people  from all walks of life, each with their own unique perspectives, stories and experiences. 

These encounters remind me that even the smallest things can bring us the greatest joy and  motivation. 

NRWC: What changes have you observed in your experience in coffee? 

Isabelle: A societal shift is gradually contributing to the empowerment of women and the  strengthening of their position in African society. The impact of the cooperative's women's support programmes has not going unnoticed in Africa, as more and more families begin to  realise the benefits of women's empowerment. As a result, there is a slow but steady shift in  attitudes towards gender equality. 

The success of these cooperatives is not only measured by their coffee production, but also  by their impact on women's empowerment and on improving the lives of their families. The  change that is taking place in Rwandan society, for example, is a testament to the power of  women's entrepreneurship and the positive effects that their support and empowerment can  have. 

Women's empowerment and the promotion of women's entrepreneurship is not a new concept in Africa, but in recent years its importance has been increasingly recognised.

“For  generations, African women have played an important role in their communities, and coffee  marketing is proving to be a powerful tool to improve their lives and strengthen their position  in society. ”

Isabelle: As Kenyan women in the coffee industry how do you define and exercise your sovereignty as a coffee producer? 

NRWC: Our understanding of sovereignty is that we are able to make decisions relating to coffee  production, processing and marketing as women without unfair interference along the  coffee value chain and that we are treated equally without any discrimination especially in  distribution of resources including farm inputs , information dissemination and market  access. However, we value constructive advice and support from stakeholders in the  industry. This did not come easily as we had to establish ourselves by coming together as  NORT women in coffee and we are now a well-known association of women focused on  working together to produce great coffee and access the market as a group. Our coming  together has attracted the attention of coffee buyers and a number are contacting us directly  without having to go through middlemen.  

Isabelle: What strategies have you employed to build resilience and maintain your independence  and control over your production and economic situation? 

NRWC: We believe we have earned our respect and independence through hard work . A number of us have gone through training on coffee agronomy, roasting, cupping and are now establishing coffee labs at the farms. We participate in trade shows as a team with each of our brand/farm names  displayed and manned by either of us that is available at that particular time. • We occasionally have information dissemination workshops joining hands with other  stakeholders to share what we know with the coffee farmers and encourage them  especially the women to work together giving them our example. Two of our members were panelists at the recent 2023 African Fine Coffee  Association conference in Kigali.  We strive to use the latest methods of production and processing that are  sustainable and make us standout as trailblazers in the sector at our region, intercropping coffee with macadamia and avocado, Dairy farming, sheep rearing , beekeeping as alternative revenue sources. We are connected to the global network by virtue of being members of the  International Women Coffee Alliance(AWCA) and volunteering our time towards the  activities that enhance the vision of the organization.  We listen to the stories of each other and other women in coffee and try to help  where we can and speak up for the women when need be. And most importantly is that we involve our men in every step to create mutual  respect.

Isabelle: In your community, what is the role of women in the coffee industry, and what are the challenges faced by women coffee producers in your region? How do these challenges manifest in terms of economic empowerment, access to resources, training, and managing family obligations?

NRWC: The role of women in the coffee industry mainly is the labor task like management of the coffee trees from pruning to picking of the coffee thus playing a vital role in the production. The main challenges especially in our area as coffee may be notably termed as male dominated industry thus bring to the discussion of cultural beliefs, in that the male ownership of the land being the major issue. Women do not receive the deserved recognition they deserve. As much as the women would greatly contribute to the vital role within the value chain of the crop, no accountability in terms of finances as it is controlled by the male figure of the household. Thus, access to resources becomes difficult leading to limited opportunities for growth.

Isabelle: Are there any specific initiatives and programs in place to support women coffee producers, and how can gender equity in the coffee industry be further promoted and supported?

NRWC: Women empowerment of the years has greatly improved.  International Women Coffee Alliance IWCA, SHE Trades that advocated for empowerment and equity for all women in coffee. Our organization as North of the Rift Women in Coffee NORTH greatly contributes to support of women as we encourage the women in our region to come together and form groups that empower them in that even access to resources such as inputs is easier. As the Swahili saying goes UMOJA NI NGUVU meaning UNITY IS STRENGTH. Gender equity can be promoted in ways like increasing more women representations in leadership and decision making along the coffee value chain, funding the women organizations thus empowering them to reach out to even the small holders in terms of training and finances.

Isabelle: When starting to work independently, did you encounter resistance from male producers or others in the coffee industry? How did you deal with this resistance?

NRWC: Because most of the farms are not owned by women  thus making  women producers have to seek consent from the spouse and through the authorization letter to the coffee directorate board to  get licensed . This also applies in getting credits and loans thus becoming a major problem in economic development.

As for male dominated meetings we decided to create women groups whereby we make sure that in all the meetings we at least get a representative to articulate women in coffee issues.

Isabelle: Looking towards the future, what opportunities do you see for greater collaboration between men and  women in the coffee sector?  

NRWC: There's a need for the training of both men and women on the processes of coffee management so that there’s no specific jobs for men and women and this will reduce discrimination and in turn promote  collaboration in the coffee sector. Equality is also key in promoting collaboration where both men and  women are given equal opportunities in the decision making table on matters of coffee either in the  Cooperatives , Government or even as low as families. 

Isabelle: What policy changes could be implemented to support greater autonomy and independence for  women producers in Kenya?

NRWC: There needs to have an enactment of the constitution of Kenya 2010 where women were  granted land rights i.e. land inheritance.  Women should be empowered financially through records such as coffee production turnovers  in the place of recognised securities such as title deeds. Empowering women by the enforcement of the 2/3 gender rule where this will create an equal  and better working environment for the women producers in the coffee sector. 

Ellen & Sarah

Sarah: What is it like to work as a woman in the coffee business?

Ellen: I feel respected and valued working in the coffee business.
Sarah: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman in coffee farming?

Ellen: As an advantage, I realise that currently the work of women in the field has been more valued.As a disadvantage, I feel the difficulty of reconciling time between maternity and work.

Sarah: How hard (physically) is the work on the plantation?

Ellen: In the past, work was heavier for everyone. Nowadays it is easier with new techniques.

Sarah: Is your job double in combination with family life?

Ellen: Yes, I divide my time between my family and our business. I have a 5 year old daughter, my husband and my 90 year old grandmother. We all live on the farm and my mother Marisa is also with us practically every day here!

Sarah: What is your motivation for doing what you do?

Ellen: I am part of the fifth generation of coffee growers in the family. I learned from my grandfather to care for and love the cafes and the place where we live. I intend to continue producing healthy food and protecting the environment at the same time. So Live in peace with family and people we love.

Sarah: How do you look at the coffee sector from your perspective?
Ellen: I think that for products with quality and produced in a sustainable way there will always be room. However, our challenge here is the high production costs as our mountainous region requires more manual work. This increases our cost and decreases our competitiveness. That's why it's very important to have business partners who value all our efforts.

Sarah: What are the main challenges in the near and distant future?

Ellen: An important challenge is to continue maintaining business relationships that distribute income fairly with all participants in the chain. Climatic adversities are also a great challenge to be faced by us producers. Here on the farm, I need to streamline my harvest and install a coffee mill to get our coffee to the warehouse more quickly, leaving here before the start of the rainy season.

Sarah: When and how did you decide to become a coffee producer?

Ellen: I grew up on the farm together with the production of coffees. I've always enjoyed country life and I'm continuing my family's work. I am very grateful to be able to give the same opportunity to experience this story to my daughter Isabel. She and my niece Valentina are the sixth generation of our family.

Sarah: Are there many women involved in coffee production where you live?

Ellen: I notice that in my region there is a greater interest of women in the coffee business and also a greater appreciation and visibility of women in the field.

Sarah: Can you describe a typical day for you? What do you make out of concrete, exactly?

Ellen: I wake up early and prepare the food for the whole day for my family. I organise the house and go out with my daughter to follow the work and help in whatever way possible. I buy inputs, I sell, I control the finances and the crops. I take my daughter to school and then we go back to the farm. How did you enter the world of coffee?

Sarah: For 15 years I worked in social work but when my husband decided to launch the first solar roaster I decided to switch careers : ) so I did. I’ve been a roaster for 3 years.

Ellen: What difficulties did you face?

Sarah: I had to learn everything from scratch. So it was hard in the beginning. Roasting with a solar roaster is very different than roasting with other kinds of roasting machines. Nobody could really help us. So it took a lot of blood and tears to develop our recipes. Today we are proud and happy to have the first solar roasted coffee.

Ellen: Are there many women working in the Roasting sector?

Sarah: No, most roasters are man, but it is changing slowly. Specially in Scandinavian countries but I mainly know a lot of man. But in our team at Ray and Jules, we are mainly women :). My sister and I do the roasting and we have three women doing packaging and then women administration. Only in our marketing team there are man :)

Komal & Charlotte

Charlotte: That’s funny that of all the women working with This Side Up, this is you, Komal, that is asking me questions. 

Indeed, India is my “heart” country, a place where I feel at home, in the right place : I do have a special feeling for your country and its people, I do have a history with “you” !! I worked there a few years ago (before my coffee journey) and met wonderful people, culture, mindset, and history.

Let’s take this coincidence as a sign !!

Komal: Would you be open to roasting different coffee species? 

Charlotte: Yes

However, I am a very small business, I generally buy 2-3 bags per origin in order to get and offer the freshest coffee possible and I try to keep the same producer each year/crop.

Being small (and beautiful 😊), I don’t have too much room for totally new experiences : being open to roasting different species would mean buying maybe a too big quantity of coffee without not being sure I’d like it and above not being sure my customers ‘d like it as well. I try to propose new “things” to my customers with “new” origins or let’s say origins that they wouldn’t have thought about – coffee wise. So before roasting different coffee species, I’d like to roast a very good Indian arabica coffee !!!!!

Komal: Have you already tried different species (other than Arabica and Robusta)

Charlotte: No. I tried once a robusta, and to be honest, it is too bitter for me. Cafeine is too high, therefore the natural bitterness of that coffee didn’t suit me. It should be noted that I have not drunk coffee for over 25 years. I always found it very bitter. So I decided to drink tea instead. I discovered 6 years ago the specialty coffee (mainly excellent arabicas) and the light roasts; I loved the softness and the sweetness of these coffees less caffeinated and especially less roasted. 

So I entered the world of coffee and I made it my job, I became craftsman and coffee roaster, telling myself that I had to explain to the world (at least to France, or at best to the people in my neighbourhood!!!) that coffee could be aromatic, sweet and not necessarily make your stomach hurt!

For the moment, I am not yet ready to drink (and therefore to roast) robusta, which for me is still a bit too "robust".

Komal: When introducing a new origin how much contributes to storytelling vs the coffee quality itself?

Charlotte: The quality of the coffee is as important to me as the fact that it is grown by a woman producer/farmer. Storytelling itself comes “after” but is very important for me. I want to make sure that the coffee I buy really contributes to the empowerment of the women, the whole community, the children in the community or the household. How did you start producing coffee?

 Komal: We are the 5th generation coffee growers. My relationship with coffee began when I went to the  UK for higher studies where I met Akshay, my husband . Me & my husband came back from the UK to take care of the coffee farm four years ago. So technically coffee has been in the family for more than a few 100 years.  

Charlotte: How do you control the quality of your coffee?

Komal: Quality of coffee starts from the soil health of the farm, moves to harvesting, wet processing, dry processing, and storage. 

 Soil Health and Coffee Quality

There is a correlation between soil health, plant health and coffee quality. We at South India Coffee Co, attribute healthy soil, nutrition management, and native tree canopy to the quality of coffee.  It’s all interconnected, Right from plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms all play a vital role in quality coffee production for us. 

“When you have a healthy crop, the next important step is harvesting and post harvesting processing.”

 Harvesting, Post Harvesting Processing & Coffee Quality 

Let’s talk about quality control during harvesting – it is important to pick ripe and separate the greens at the field itself. We do another round of removing defects when the coffee reaches the wet mill, coffees are then floated to remove further defects. We then move the coffees to the drying yard, post pulping or as cherry (when processing naturals) , to raised beds, The coffee is covered in the evenings to prevent it from any condensation. Raking coffees regularly means even drying which attributes to the final quality.

Storage & Coffee Quality 

Post drying the coffee is put in clean jute bags and stored in a warehouse for 4 – 6 weeks , above the ground on wooden panels away from the walls in order to prevent it from absorbing moisture from the ground or walls. The warehouse is well ventilated, free from smells. 

Dry Milling & Coffee Quality

Each lot is dry milled separately. The coffee is peeled, polished, graded via density, gravity and colour, ensuring maximum amount of defects are removed. If the coffee doesn’t pass our quality check in the first round, we send it through the colour sorter again to remove further defects. 

Storage Post Dry Milling & Coffee Quality 

Dry milled coffee is ready to be shipped out. We use hermetic bags inside burlap bags which have high oxygen and moisture barrier properties to seal the freshness of green coffee throughout the supply chain and storage.

We control the coffee quality through these measures. 

Charlotte: How do you decide who to sell your coffee to?

Komal: We like to work with people who believe in the vision of long-term sustainable coffee growing. Transparency is key with the partner we decide to work with. It doesn’t matter if we are selling 1 bag or 100 bags, we want to create collaborative partnerships. 

Charlotte: How does climate change affect your coffee production?

Komal: In these last 4 years we have seen change in weather patterns which has made us change our nutrition management and shade management systems.  Increasing the shade canopy has its pros and cons. 

Pro – The median temperature in the coffee farms in lower, which ensures healthy Arabica production 

Con – Increased shade for Robusta reduces the yield, making it financially unsustainable for the grower.

As producers we rely on a dry harvest season – something that most countries could take for granted, but this doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.  The last few years sudden heavy rains during harvest season seems to be a common occurrence in India. Our region in Coorg, Karnataka which usually gets about 55 to 65 inches of rain, this year we recorded 100 inches of rain. 

So during the harvest season we have to pick coffee quicker, as there is fear of coffee splitting on the plant or even worse it falls of the plant. With these challenging weather conditions, we have had to think of innovative solutions to process and dry our coffees and work on our shade management system

 Charlotte: How do you see the future of the coffee industry?

Komal: We must think of innovative solutions at the farm level. Be it drying, post-harvest processing or agricultural practices.

1. Mindful consumption of coffee, knowing where your coffee comes from, know your coffee producer, and traceable aspects of the coffee is the future.

2. Reducing the use of harsh chemicals, or finding more sustainable, organic sprays, making your own compost  is the future for the coffee industry but it all comes at a cost. 

3. Propagation of climate reliant coffee species in the future for the coffee industry, for example – Excelsa, Liberica. We are currently studying these species for future propagation.

4. Focus on agroforestry method of cultivation is a sustainable way of farming which is a common form of coffee cultivation in India.  

Charlotte: Can you talk about the importance of women's role in coffee production?

 Komal: Women on the coffee farms have been an integral part of the workforce in coffee producing countries. In Coorg and Chickmanglur most of the workforce comprises women, making them the primary breadwinners for the family. Important to note that many young women are also becoming managers and we help upskill women who want to work as managers. We also noticed the women are way faster at pruning techniques, harvesting coffee and tend to plants way better than men.

 Charlotte: How are women involved in different stages of coffee production, from planting to marketing?

 Komal: As I mentioned earlier the women make up almost 70 – 80% of the workforce of most coffee farms in India. Many women also run the coffee farm, for example our family farm is owned by my mother the law (coffee producer) , managed by me and my husband ( growers) , workforce (80% women) , marketing by me , dry milling is done by a mill which has mostly women workforce, and exported by me again. We are slowly seeing a number of women in leadership roles, opening bean to cup cafes, roasting units and creating brands, agronomists, cuppers and coffee consultants  all over India. 

 Charlotte: What are the specific challenges that women face in the coffee sector?

 Komal: As most coffee farms are in rural areas, India still has a patriarchal society, it is difficult to manage farms if a male staff is not present. For example we are running a community based project in the Pushpagiri mountains, where the farmer finds it difficult to follow my lead, whereas it would be much easier if it was a man taking the lead (in this case my husband).  It is frustrating to deal with these situations, however things are changing in the city.  We are seeing several coffee professionals in the other verticals of the coffee industry, be it marketing, roasting, barista skills, café owners, the number of women in the field is increasing every day.  

 Charlotte: How do coffee producer organizations support women in the coffee sector?

 Komal: In India we have the Women’s Coffee Alliance (India) Chapter. The organisation supports on-going projects in women and child healthcare as well as girl child education in traditional and non-traditional coffee growing regions. However, I am not aware of any other organizations supporting women in the coffee sector. 

 Charlotte: What initiatives exist to encourage women's participation in the coffee sector? 

 Komal: Currently in India we have the WCAI which promotes women in coffee. However, I think there is much work to be done. 

 Charlotte: How can consumers support women in the coffee sector?

Komal: Know your coffee producer, as a roaster if you tell our stories to the consumer, they will connect with us (producers). Making meaningful connections, not just how the coffee is grown , but more about the person making a real connection will make the consumer buy the same coffee year on year. They consumers should feel connected to the person behind the coffee. 

 Charlotte: What changes can be made to improve the representation and participation of women in the coffee sector?

Komal: Creating platforms, Spaces, podcasts, meetup groups , social media awareness, where women can get together, learn, exchange ideas, upskill , knowledgeshare, and most importantly get funding for development of ideas.

The path to an intimate value chain.

In 2016 our then-partner in Nicaragua, Francisco, stole money from over 16 coffee producers, their families, us, and our partner and social lender. Of the 16 farmers we worked with, most returned to conventional coffee. However, a small group kept working with quality and is now proving strong and united. This year we traveled to Nicaragua to see how we can work directly again with this outstanding group.

Luis, at La Dueña DryMill

Luis Armendariz leans softly on the rising beds of La Dueña drymill, on the outskirts of Ocototal, as he explains how these past years have led them to seek their own independence as a group of farmers. His two adult daughters, Benhazin and Arianova, and his partners and lifelong friends, Moncho, his son Juan Ramon, and Bayron, stand forming a circle around him and we listen. Luis still takes his old military stance, and his words come out with the sensible authority of someone not only speaking for himself: "After what happened, some unhappy producers decided to take the path of conventional coffee,” he says, “but we knew we had the potential. Historically, our coffee has been recognized for its quality, and great coffees have come from this region. This is the direct result of the care we give to production. So we took the initiative and came together as a group. We have the human capacity and our children are on board. They are already part of our value chain. We've always believed that the future of coffee is in its quality and its varieties. We decided to stay together and kept on working."

Luis refers to the scam as "that which happened" others say "After the troubles” “or “that thing that happened”. “After the troubles” says Bayron “my family and I were thrown into debt, and this destroyed my trust”.  “After the revolt, my family lost everything," says Ronny, whom we met on our last day, and whose father was Francisco's ally when he stole money and resources–as well as two years of the producers’ output. He is taking charge of the debts owed to the farmers. Francisco fled. Some say he is in the US, but we cannot be sure. We do know, however, that he left behind a group of unhappy producers and a big debt.

“It’s happened before. People have stolen entire containers, so it’s understandable why we have so many trust issues and why direct trade is so relevant for us.”

So far, La Dueña doesn't have an export license, but the group intends to obtain one. Arianova, Luis's daughter, works in exporting, so her role with the group is quite clear. "Once we have this, it will all stay among us," says Moncho, the owner of La Dueña. As we stand there, listening to them speak, Luis occasionally runs his hands through the coffee beans scattered on the raised beds, pops one open, chews, and keeps talking. "Our dream is to work directly," says Moncho "it would be a dream come true." 

Lennart testing Byron’s roasting machine.

Soon after, we are in the back of Bayron's truck and heading to Nueva Segovia, which is right on the border with Honduras and is home for most of them. Bayron moves with the energetic drive of someone that knows exactly what to say or do. His smile shines in his eyes as he looks at Lennart, sitting next to him in the Toyota. "I'm so happy you're here," "estoy alegre" he repeatedly says, "we didn't think you’d be back." These years have made Bayron a much stronger man. "I've learned not to trust anyone until I have the contract in my hands," he says, and off we go in the Toyota, bouncing slightly. He drives fast, and I can feel the excitement and nervousness that our visit is stirring up. Bayron is not only a coffee grower. He is a self-taught mechanic and has applied his genius to coffee. He rebuilt his 1976 Toyota truck. He built his family washing station and now makes roasting machines from scratch. "I love doing this," he says, "I have so much fun." Besides this, he also roasts, grinds and packs the coffee his neighbors send him. He lives with his wife and two girls. His brothers and father live nearby in the house that saw him grow up. "I feel strong again and ready to regain my market," he says as we lurch over the bumps in the dirt road and reach his father's house.

Byron, at his estate El Mirador.

Our days are full in Nicaragua. We haven't stopped for a second. There is so much to see and discover, and the paths open upon us like a strange exotic flower. Each turn we take on the road reveals a contrasting sight. Rivers that perpetually shine move along with us as loyal witnesses, sometimes from afar, so they can only be heard. The ecosystem changes and it's always dense vegetation. Ancient ferns, trees of all sizes and colors, blossoming flowers, and a wide diversity of birds fly here and there. It smells like caramel, banana, and rotting mucilage. "Do you smell that?" asks Arlin, on our second day in the country as she shows us her beautiful estate up in Jinotega. 

Mother of two, Arlin also has a full-time job and does coffee on the side. "Since I was little, I wanted to become a coffee producer," she says. But it was not until four years ago that she  took the challenge seriously. Now she couldn't be happier. "I love coffee. I love it. I drink 14 cups a day and am perpetually in love with the process."  

We met Arlin through our now trusted partner in Nicaragua, René, who also helped Arlin improve her processing, and they appear to be close friends. As the owner and manager of four estates and a drymill in the politically challenging nation of Nicaragua, René has persevered in what seems to be a divided and intensely competitive scenario. Son of Don René Paguagua, now 94, he has been in coffee all his life. More than this, coffee is what has made him.  

And it is at Santa Lucila where we finally meet Ronny, 32. His father, Ronny Sr., was left to face the immense debt Francisco left behind after he ran away. The man lives from the money his two other sons send from the States, but Ronny Jr. doesn't feel like migrating. He felt like staying, clearing his father's debt and working with coffee. This year, we're honored to offer his coffee. Over the past years, his production has dropped dramatically, and he is in so much debt he sometimes struggles to meet his daily needs: "But I don't like living in the city. I like life in the field." He says with the clear straightforwardness of someone that means it. 

Our year in Numbers.

“Still, after all these years, we feel we’re only just started on a much bigger journey - a new level of change we can instigate now that we have such strong trust of a tightly knit network of farmers and roasters. ”

One of our intentions for this year is to keep pushing the boundaries of transparency, raising the bar for what a good middleman should show. From now on we will present annually how and where we earned and spent our money, in a way that is easy to grasp.

In summary, we are proud that we did well last year, and that we are entering a whole new phase of our growth. One in which we structurally need to think how to invest our profits to create more far-reaching impact. Still, after all these years, we feel we’re only just started on a much bigger journey - a new level of change we can instigate now that we have such strong trust of a tightly knit network of farmers and roasters.

For now, let’s dive into last year in more detail.

Average Farmgate price :
USD 6,52 / kg

Although Maarten, Mathieu and Madhu are working on a far more sophisticated cost of production calculation for each of our origin partners and the farmers they work with, this year we can already give you a fairly accurate estimate of the part of the price that actually goes to farmers in all our origins. For reference, we have plotted the farmgate and FOB prices (the price paid to the exporter excluding all international shipping costs) per origin in the graph below - a caveat is that we define “farmgate” as the cash in hands of the owner of the coffee farm. This means that estate holders obviously receive a relatively much larger piece of the farmgate pie than coops and independent exporters.

Total volume imported:
487.319 kg

Our coffee imports rose with 53% compared to 2021. Included in the graph below are all the imports of the 2022 harvest per origin - for better oversight, we did not include imports of different harvests of the same origin that both occurred in 2022. For reference, 1 container equals 19.000 kg of green coffee.

Sales per Country.

By far the largest country we sell in is our home in the Netherlands. This is not only because we are most known here, but also because we have a separate business selling coffee for large corporate / governmental tenders. You can see where we sell the remaining 27% in the chart below.

Total Revenue :
€ 2.970.363

This Side Up grew by 71% in revenues compared to 2021, a larger growth than the growth in volume because of higher coffee prices. Below is a detailed graph of our growth since 2015, showing that recently things have truly begun to take off. We attribute this to a large part to your loyalty: The growth with existing customers was 44% and with new customers 23%. In other words, we are proud that you entrusted us with so much more of your coffee requirements than in the years before. Our gratitude couldn’t be bigger: our impact as a network is becoming a visible force in the coffee world. Our net profit has also never been bigger - and instead of handing out bonuses, we use this buffer to become more independent: by assuring healthy cash flow and becoming a more interesting investment for impact lenders.

How we spent our money.

Below is an overview of our expenses, the total of which was € 2.896.260. That’s an increase of 63% compared to 2021, mainly due to increased coffee purchases. Other increases included more origin travel post-corona, a severe quality issue we decided to write off 50% of with our friends in Peru, and of course organising the Producer Crossover in Milan which included flight tickets for all attending producers (under Selling Expenses). As you can see, we contribute quite significantly to keeping warehousing and outgoing transportation costs manageable for roasters.

This Side Up daily wage :
€ 190

Not many of you may know this, but This Side Up has a single rate for a day of work at the company. Whether it’s the founder or someone just starting out, we all earn the same, applied to the amount of days we work. This sum is before taxes and is adjusted according to whether the contract is on a self-employed basis or true wage labour, or in the case of Milena who works from Mexico, we adjust for local living standards.

Where do we get our
working capital?

Our biggest concern has always been to ascertain enough working capital to keep up with roaster demand. Although we now have the possibility to get some credit at our bank, this is fairly recent and a small part of our total portfolio, which consists mostly of social impact lenders, trade facilitators and increasingly, our own equity.

This year will be a major task to expand this portfolio. In our view, who wouldn’t want to invest in so much impact across such a beautiful scope of communities worldwide - now to transfer that excitement onto potential lenders! If you know anyone who fits the profile, we’d be grateful if you could recommend us to them…

Who owns This Side Up?

Last year, Bas Clerkx left TSU as an investor, leaving the company now fully in the hands of Lennart, Mathieu and Maarten. Here you can see the division of shares.

Some highlights of the year.

Of course, numbers don’t tell the full story. This Side Up had an amazing year of adventures, personal growth, deep bonding within the team and with origin partners and roasters - stuff that is hard to grasp in written language and graphs. Here is an attempt though: a timeline of a few of the things we look back to with joy and pride.

Getting to know Aggrey Chombe

Zombo Coffee Partners is steadily becoming an economic motor for farmers in the Zombo district in Uganda, while also putting Uganda on the map as a specialty coffee origin. How did its founding members make this possible? What circumstances did they face and how did they overcome them? While working closely with the farmers and supporting their empowerment, Aggrey and Andy also faced other challenges. I sat down with Aggrey and learnt more about the company, Aggrey and the microstations. 

Aggrey and Andy, talking, in one of the Zombos’ microstation, during Maarten and Lennart’s visit in May 2022.

Picture by Maarten

““Farmers used to look at coffee as something falling from their trees, they used to only look at coffee when the season came.”

”

— Aggrey Chombe

What brought you to coffee?

When I was growing up as a child we used to harvest coffee to pay for school. We would sell coffee for clothes, but that is in the past. When I look now, I see coffee as one of the best income generating activities that farmers can engage in. 

How was Zombo born as a company?

After I met Andy, in 2015, we started talking about how to produce better quality coffee. We mostly circled around one question: how could farmers produce the best coffee when there’s no buyer? No one was willing to offer the best price and we kept having discussions about how we could best support these farmers. This was high quality coffee. And so, in 2018, Andy decided to create a company that could support these farmers. The company would buy the coffee from them and we would export the coffee. We would help the farmers. Empower them and also give them some additional income, plus other benefits. This is how Zombo was born.

From your perspective, how has the micro-stations model developed throughout time? 

I think a lot has happened. And as I said, I grew up as a coffee farmer, amongst farmers. I’ve seen how people handle coffee, in terms of the quality, in terms of the value for their coffee, in terms of how people benefit from their coffee. So I realise that we’ve met quite a number of middlemen before, but never before did we have this knowledge about coffee. After harvesting, we used to do anything we wanted with our coffee, and then we simply waited for someone to come and offer us a price, what they wanted. So there was not really a market for our coffee. There was no good market for coffee in Zombo. If I compare what we are doing now at the microstations to what we did back then, a few things have changed. Farmers used to look at coffee as something falling from their trees, they used to only look at coffee when the season came and said “ we’ll go to the tree and sell”. Farmers now see a lot of value in their coffee, they are willing to do a lot more to increase the value of their coffee by putting their efforts and implementing a lot of good agronomic practices so they can have a better coffee. 

““Across all the microstations where we are working, everyone knows what it means to produce specialty coffee.” ”

So the knowledge is very much in the farmers, and they really understand. They now do quality control in their stations and they are able to do the harvesting right, from the start. In 2018 cherries were sold at around 700/- per kg (4,900/- per kg of export coffee).  I mean there’s not much you can do with this amount. After we came, the cherry price increased each year.  In 2022 it reached 2,300/- per kg of cherry (16,100/- per kg of export coffee), more than three times as much.  With the microstations in place all the farmers benefit from it because the price of coffee has never gone down since we started working with them. Other buyers follow the price we offer.  Competition is now benefiting the farmers.  On top of the increased price, after the end of the year the company pays 33% of our net profit to the farmers as a bonus. That is something that is benefiting the farmers. It promotes unity amongst them, it is also giving them the capacity to do financial management: now they are able to manage their money and send their kids to school. 

Ayaka microstation facilities.

Their mindset has changed about coffee. They look at coffee as something that has great value. Something that can generate money and so now they use their money to invest. Before, they used their money to drink or they would simply spend it. Now they plan together how to implement their money to improve, they invest in livestock, capital. Some microstations are also cooperatives and they are now able to stand on their own and do some business. 

How was the coffee situation in Uganda before this project started? 

Well, as I mentioned before, there were companies that were buying coffee, but they were using New York to determine the price. When we came, we didn’t use New York to determine the price. So, this changed everything because the price used to be too low. There were too many middlemen. The weighing scales were really, really terrible, I don’t know how to put it. Farmers now are able to compare the weighing scales we have and the weighing scales they used to have and they found differences of up to 5 kilos per bag of fresh cherry. Also in terms of quality, farmers used to dry their coffee in the ground and other things that are not happening now. 

Why did you choose coffee as a life path?

I look at coffee as something that can generate income. I also chose coffee because it's healthy to drink it. And also because it's not as labour intense as other crops, you just need to maintain the plantation. When you cultivate coffee you can also harvest other crops like beans or bananas, so coffee can also generate other incomes from other crops. 

How do you drink your coffee?

Locally, the green beans you roast it and then you grind with a stone, you then boil water, add the coffee to it and then you drink. You can add sugar to it. I drink coffee every morning and in the evening. 

What do you see as your next step? 

On the road to coffee I would love to learn more. I would like to understand more about Q-Cupping, and also about a consumers’ perspective on our coffee. We need to hear their side in order to improve, getting their feedback on our coffee and their recommendations. I would also love to hear some other coffee producers that are doing better than us, and learn something from them. That is something we really want to do. We’ve never been on the map, so we now want to use our reputation to improve. My ambition is to create the best coffee in the world. This is really my ambition. 

Getting to know Fuadi Pitsuwan

I recently interviewed our partner Fuadi and learnt a lot about his take on sustainability, coffee trade and Thai coffee. His efforts to bring Thai coffee to the international market in a sustainable and fair way is already making him a point of reference in many senses. 

“After eight years in the business, it still feels like a start-up.”

— Fuadi Pitsuwan

Fuadi and Jarron Joplin, in Khun Lao, Chiang Rai.

 What moves you about coffee? 

It's the relationships with the producers and the buyers that I form over the years, which keeps me going despite all the challenges. Unless the producers roast and own a cafe, all of us in the supply chain are middlemen in some ways. I aspire to be the kind of  middleman that guides people in the supply chain to see the value in what I do and  share the belief of improving and showcasing Thai coffee.

How do you integrate your work as an academic with coffee?
Have you been able to apply knowledge or resources from one area into the other?

I think my engagement in both fields informs each other.  The most important principles in academia are causality and replicability. While in coffee production, we need to make sure that the farmers are better off, risks are minimised, and coffee processing methods are financially viable and sustainable. Balancing all these requirements became the goal that I strive towards. 

For example, whenever we design a certain experimental processing method with the hope of creating a specific taste profile, we need to plan and that means thinking theoretically about the cause and effect of whatever inputs and controls that go into the coffee processing method and the expected outcome from that process. So, if the process yields desirable results, we increase the likelihood of replicating that process in the future. While doing so, the central player that must be protected and whose interest must be taken into consideration at all times, are the producers. Oftentimes, this means there are trade offs between doing things by the book and making sure that it is practical for the producers. Knowing which "Critical Control Points" (or CCP - this is a food safety/production term) to establish, monitor and, more importantly, compromise that help achieve the balance between theory and pragmatism.

What made you believe in Thailand as an emerging origin for specialty coffee back in 2012?

It was very much driven by simply the fact that I want to see Thai coffee being represented at top cafes and roasters around the world. I was studying in the US then, and that was when specialty coffee roasters and cafes were proliferating.  

I went to these places to study and realised that there are coffees from many origins. Well, anyone that grew up in Thailand would know that we produce coffee, Arabica in the North and Robusta in the South, but we have never really seen it outside of Thailand. So that absence of Thai coffee in the international specialty coffee market serves to drive me to promote Thai coffee. 

How do you drink your coffee every morning?

I went through many phases. But for the last few years, my go-to brewing method is a Clever dripper. I like it because of its consistency and ease of use. Clever dripper is a full immersion method where the coffee ground gets filtered out by a paper at the end. So it's the best of both worlds (full immersion plus filter)!

What has been your greatest challenge so far regarding Beaspire?

I think it's about growing to the next phase of the business and diversifying into other coffee-related segments. After eight years in business, I still feel like a start up.  Every year, there is something new to learn... Like now, climate change is really hitting us hard. And for the past few years, yield has gone down considerably.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?

It's being able to see Thai coffee being served at specialty cafes and roasters around the world. And that contributes to the vibrancy of both the growing and consumption market in Thailand. The last time I counted we were in 13 countries. And this is just by Beanspire. Now, there are more people interested in exporting coffees and making better coffees as well. 

“I feel there is so much less focus on ‘organic’ or ‘rainforest’ certifications these days, and more on people empathizing with other people.”

Farmer from Doi Saket, busy at work.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability means so much to us. For a long time, I have always felt that this term actually hurts farmers. I used to think that there was a huge trade off between environmental sustainability and socio-economic sustainability of the producers. And in many ways, there is still. But more people are understanding the need to balance these two interests. For example, recently we participated in the Producer Crossover that TSU organised. It's a side meeting during the World of Coffee 2022 in Milan with a focus on regenerative agroforestry. I feel that there is so much less focus on 'organic' or 'rainforest' certifications these days and more people are empathising with the farmers. Many people now understand the need for the first-world buyers to be more farmer-centric than in the past. They understand potential trade-offs and tend to value the 'attempt' or the 'will' to improve the condition at the farms so that farmers can make a good living, while also minimising usage of resources and protecting the environment.

What does Beanspire mean?

'Beanspire' is a play on "be inspired". That should be quite obvious. But what most people do not know is that the name has two other meanings to me. It could also be interpreted as 'be among the spires', meaning being on top of the mountain peaks. And the last meaning is the fact that I started Beanspire the same year that I was admitted into the PhD program at Oxford and the slogan for Oxford is 'City of Dreaming Spires' hence it is appropriate that 'Beanspire' has some links to that city too.

Something else you’d like to share?

I really would like to thank my business partner, Jane Kittirattanapaiboon. Less people may know about her, but she is arguably the more important half of Beanspire as she is permanently based in Chiang Rai and handles most of the day-to-day operation at our mill for several years, until I moved back to Thailand to help her in 2019. There is a coffee in the stock, Wiang Pa Pao Fully Washed, which she curates (i.e. controlling the processing and sourcing the parchments) that I hope you all can support.

Regenerative coffee for climate resilience

There is so much to say about my short but intense visit to the farmers of Finca Churupampa in Chirinos, a small village high in the Peruvian jungle. If I should try to describe it with one word it would be “fairytale”. These farmers are living the regenerative dream and working on developing and improving themselves further and further. The farms I visited were very advanced in their circular and regenerative practices. I saw multiple trees, fruit crops and cover crops growing on the farms. Finca Churupampa themselves have a vegetable garden and some livestock, which made going to a market superfluous. They are teaching farmers to make their own organic compost to enrich and protect the soils and they work on reforestation on and besides the coffee plantations. Important aspects to improve coffee quality but also very necessary to be able to deal with the increasing heavy rain that can damage the cherry and sometimes can make the farm inaccessible, due to the steep slopes. In summer, they are experiencing longer periods of drought. According to Eber Tocto Bermeo, the founder of Finca Churupampa, there is one solution to mitigate these effects, planting trees. To increase this movement, the family enterprise is investing a lot in education.

“I was very impressed by the drive of Eber, whose main mission is to find the best possible solutions that benefit farmers and increase sustainable practices to improve coffee quality.”

The enterprise was founded in 2014 and doubled its volume in the last two years to 60 thousand quintiles. The farm is financing nurseries for native trees to plant on the coffee farms, they invest in improved drying facilities, and help with transportation of the coffee from the farms. They collaborate a lot with research centers to optimize best sustainable practices. Wilder said: “I might not make the most profit I could make at this moment, but I believe this type of farming is best for the future and it is making me happy, and that’s the most important”.

Farmer Wilder Facundo Carhuallocllo showing the indoor drying facility he developed together with his brother. Which are much needed due to the increasing effects of climate change they are experiencing. 

Finca Churupampa pays great interest in investing in their technical team, who form the cornerstone of the enterprise. They support farmers in best practices, advising on the best plants to use for diversification strategies on the coffee plots, applying organic practices and optimizing quality and processing

“Currently 30% of Churupampa’s coffee production is for the specialty segment, which is all being exported to international markets. 70% of all Churupampa farmers currently have 1-2ha of agroforestry, the other 30% is in development.”

Eber’s dream is to become fully regenerative and circular. “This will improve our livelihoods. I want to invest what we earn in improving and developing the company and our farm, in a way that will benefit us in the future, instead of buying a new television or a house in the city”. For this year he has the objective to plant 100.000 trees in the area, and scale this up in the coming years.

Pricing what has never been valued

Being married to a Brazilian, I’ve grown to understand (and like!) the country and the culture in the last few years.  At first glance, farmers seem to be smiling as they talk with me, but on a deeper look, I’ve learnt to recognize it as a nervous smile…

Yes, the current market prices are high, and this might be good for many farmers. But prices can be very volatile, as we have seen in the past. Farmers I met remember the market lows too well, after the happy times of having peak prices. Nowadays, it only gets more complex: the effects of climate change, high input prices due to the war in Ukraine, expensive logistics, and a volatile market… the nervousness under that smile is becoming clearer and clearer to me.

Instead of waiting for the gloomy clouds of storm to gather, or wait for the storm to pass, we decided to take a step forward and strengthen our  connection with the farmers even more. Together with our friends from Capricornio, we saw a simple answer: let’s create a market independent from the world market. Let’s do this together. We’ve already proven that this is possible  in different markets, but Brazil… Well, let’s just say  it’s definitely a different caliber in the coffee industry. Together with our roasters friends we’ve consolidated a volume that can create a stable parallel market. On the basis of what, precisely? Well… on the basis of production costs. 

“What does it cost to produce a kilogram of coffee and what do you want to earn as a farmer on top of that?
”

— Maarten van Keulen

Donizete Soares at Fazenda Palmeiras, São Jerônimo da Serra, Paraná, Brazil.

Put those numbers transparently on the table – and it will show a figure that the European market does or does not want to swallow…

Is it too high? Then together you can look at exactly the costs that made it so high. Or is it perceived to be too high, then it can serve as an explanation of why people “on the other side” need exactly this price. It’s a simple approach that comes with a lot of extra benefits.

Let’s take a  look at expenses – is there a way to minimize these? Fertilizers are expensive. Could you produce your own on-farm organic fertilizer? Or should you join forces for certain investments with your neighbors?

You’re looking at stability – it’s a relationship built on trust. Both sides of the value chain benefit a lot of a stable product, and intensified collaborations based on quality and tailor made products.

You look at a sales price – it’s about mutual entrepreneurship and acknowledging that as a value chain, we’re dependent on each other: squeezing someone will damage us all, and so will negotiating for extremely high prices. “Finally,  we don’t have to sell under cost price anymore and somebody actually cares,” a smallholder farmer of Mulheres do Café Matão told me.

And, last but not least, human connection. This is a product we created together. Farmers become sales agents for their roasters, and roasters become advisors on funky processing techniques.

In practical terms, this deepened approach has consequences for the coffees we offer. We will now be working with four “sources”. Two state of the art estates that are at the forefront of intercropping, reforestation, microbial research and coffee processing experimentation; and two cooperatives of smallholder farmers that have joint forces to create a better livelihood for their families. It is absolutely a different face of Brazilian coffee farmers, and one we can all be very proud of. These four sources will be delivering the coffees for the blends based on flavor stability, the single estate (or cooperative) coffees with their unique story and the experimental microlots with funky pallets.

On the basis of these relationships, Capricornio will provide free agronomical training to improve and stabilize quality. Next to this, we will expand the experiments done on regenerative agriculture. Like this, we will alleviate the lives of smallholder farmers, whilst showing that “doing good” can be done on a big scale. The coffees will be a true homage to the work of both This Side Up and Capricornio: showing what specialty coffee relationships really can do.

What is regenerative agroforestry?

Far from straightforward, one of the main goals of the 2022 Producer Crossover is to gather a common understanding of this concept.

When you research agroforestry, you realise that you can see it in two ways. The simplest definition is "agriculture involving trees". This would qualify every coffee farm as agroforestry. However, the term is usually used and has been coined and spread via World Agroforestry (ICRAF) since the 70's to entail something bigger, which I will try to grasp in my own words.

First of all, there is nothing new about agroforestry. Integrating trees into farms has been agricultural practice for millennia, especially by those still in close touch with the wild places on Earth. In mainstream ecology and conservationism too, it is a given that trees are important for natural systems beyond what most of us can imagine. In essence, agroforestry means using trees to provide benefits to a farm. These benefits are so numerous that they deserve another post, but the main themes are soil quality, water preservation, shade, climatic stability, income diversification and biodiversity.

Second, agroforestry entails simultaneous benefit for many "stakeholders" of a piece of land: humans, annual crops, wildlife, other trees and livestock. It's only recently that humans have the technological means to exploit land to meet the needs of only one of the above, but we are slowly realising that if we don't listen to what the land itself needs, not even one of these stakeholders can be satisfied in the long run. So why not establish systems that meet the needs of the soil, the trees, the whole ecosystem - to create healthy crops and communities in their wake? It's not a pipe dream, it's just how nature works if you respect it.

Images always work better to explain a complex concept… Source: Forestrypedia.com

And why add the word "regenerative"? Of course, this pertains to regenerating the life in soils and creating more biomass - but this is embodied in the term agroforestry, right? In essence, yes. For that matter, other important terms like permaculture and agro-ecology all have the regeneration of soils in their core - "regenerative agriculture" in my view is just a new way of promoting the same core principles of growing food with respect for the principles of the natural world. What is different about this generation's version is two things.

First, urgency. Our destructive agricultural ways have come so far that we have to drastically increase biomass and soil health to store the excess carbon our species is emitting. Let me stress this: agroforestry has the potential not only to curb current agriculture's CO2 output but even absorb CO2 from other human activities.

Second, scale. Compared to the romantic food forests and permaculture projects of the last decades, the regenerative movement (including syntropic agriculture) is applied to larger projects and adopted by more mainstream agricultural organisations, funds and governments. You are now starting to see acres upon acres with neat alternating rows of trees and annual crops providing benefits to each other, and at the same time easily accessible to tractors and combine harvesters.

So in my view, "regenerative" is the 21st century take on agroforestry that shows a professional and scaleable, yet equally activistic mentality. With this combination, we have a very serious shot to make a stand against the old world: those who willingly create deforestation, erosion, desertification, chemical and fertiliser pollution and ultimately our civilisation's decline.

Large scale agroforestry project in Brazil.

So what does this have to do with coffee? Our industry is definitely not in the same ballpark as the dystopian GMO corn fields and cattle ranches of the American Midwest... Yet most coffee farms, wether they are the monocultures of Brazil or the few-acre smallholder plots in the rest of the world work under a similar paradigm: "how can we extract the most from this land?" Farmers are not to blame for this, it is simply the only way to make coffee farming a viable option in today's system that benefits only the powerful. But what if we make the subtle but enormous shift to: "how can we understand and meet the land's needs so its health brings us abundance?"

Under this mindset, many new questions arise... But in a world of underpaid coffee farmers, political instability, but also incredible ease and speed of communication and dissemination of knowledge, all of us, growers, importers, roasters alike, should give this a serious shot. Can you imagine that all our coffee comes from farms that understand and communicate passionately about how they nurture their soils, earn benefits from being carbon negative, produce most of their own food or sell different crops than just coffee, communicate directly with their customers and forget that the C-market even exists? We can...

A tribute to the richest agroforestry system on Earth.

I met Nihal through an email he sent me in 2019. Although TSU receives at least three emails a week from farmers and exporters asking us to buy their coffee, after years one develops a nose for spotting likeminded producers. Nihal was not looking to sell coffee but was simply reaching out to partner with likeminded people. We cupped some of his robusta but it honestly wasn’t very good. Not because it doesn’t have potential (the sweetness of the local variety is like that of thick maple syrup), but because he nor the locals he works with ever received any harvest training. I promised to help him upgrade their processing, but we also started talking about other ways to cooperate.

Seeing the potential in dried jackfruit as a vegan meat alternative, I decided to import some of this to see if a market could develop and test the European waters for Ekoland. All the while I introduced them to my good friend and former TSU volunteer Iona Mulder who started The Good Spice. We have been using the spices she imports from them (ginger, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon) for our own cooking for a year now and honestly, a world opened up for us: the difference between supermarket quality and Iona’s carefully selected specialty spices is the same as between Douwe Egberts and a geisha. I felt I needed to visit this place, guide them in upgrading their robusta processing and check out the mystical “Kandyan forest gardens” for myself. Iona was keen to visit for more than a year as well, so this year we finally made it happen.

“Nowhere on Earth have I seen or heard of such a tremendous “portfolio” of valuable produce crowded into such small farm areas. ”

Let me paint a picture of the agroforestry systems we saw there. Nutmeg and mace grow on huge trees, as do mango, jackfruit, avocado and numerous local species in the emergent (upper canopy) layer, often adorned with high reaching black pepper vines. Seven varieties of true cinnamon (the world’s best), cardamom, cacao and robusta coffee grow in the lower canopy. Where there is full sun and a water line, space is made for bananas, tea, papaya, cassave and annuals such as turmeric and ginger for selling, plus tomatoes, aubergines, passion fruit on trellises and one or two chili bushes, loquats and guava trees for own use close to the home. A bonkers crazy mix of bird sounds fills the air day and night and monkeys, local deer and squirrels are a constant sight. Not all farmers have all of the above plants on their own land, but because the forest gardens are made to fit the topography of the land (not the other way around), you’ll often find this same combination at the village level, owned by several cooperating farmers. Nowhere on Earth have I seen or heard of such a tremendous “portfolio” of valuable produce crowded into such small farm areas. The most inspiring of all is that many of these are plants great companion crops to each other as well.

15 years ago, Nihal inherited a piece of land close to Kandy, in the heart of Sri Lanka. His grandfather was a local village chief of sorts. As is often the case with higher castes, after privileged schooling Nihal’s next of kin moved to the city and weren’t interested the remote and rural place they inherited - after all, all there was were trees and a whole lot of wild animals on a sloped, “unsuitable” area for any development. However, Nihal stepped his grandfather’s footsteps and was determined to make its beauty and richness available to the world.

Fast forward 15 years and Polwaththa Lodge hosts several beautiful canopy lodges and Ekoland Produce not only grows and processes spices from their land, but is buying more and more produce from the local villagers too. As anyone who tried to conquer the center of Sri Lanka would know, the villagers in this area have always resisted outside influence and are suspicious of outsiders. Yet here too, we see the magical formula so often applied to our other value chains: Nihal is both a local with traceable roots to the area, speaks the language of the farmers and has their respect - yet his worldly upbringing taught him to think outside the box, boldly going where no local had gone before in terms of experimenting, finding new direct customers abroad and generally has a progressive attitude towards local development. He married Nel, a Dutch woman and a passionate conservationist and they have a son, Remon, the quiet rationalist behind the scenes who makes sure his dad’s wacky ideas also have a solid business foundation. As in any family business, they squabble and banter quite a bit but are all inspiringly driven and dedicated, each in their own way. 

“The contrast between the rich and prosperous paradise that the island could be and what it actually has been turned into by those in power hurts me to my core.”

As anyone who’s read the news recently knows though, Sri Lanka is not a paradise today. Because of poor governmental policy and overt corruption by the single family and their cronies in power, foreign reserves are depleted, prices for basic foodstuffs and petrol have soared, and people have taken to the streets to demand that the president step down. In contrast to the picture portrayed by international media, these protests have usually been peaceful and have brought together all religions, castes and professions to stride for a common cause. However, there is still no real opposition to the rulers and there are no signs of real change, further adding to the frustration of the protesters. Yesterday the mood turned and the police started firing live bullets at the crowds, one person was killed and many others were wounded. 

The contrast between the rich and prosperous paradise that the island could be and what it actually has been turned into by those in power hurts me to my core. It is my conviction now more than ever that providing a window to the world for local heroes like Nihal who can create a parallel economy based on trust and fairness - even in conditions like these - is a solid development path for all of the coffee producing world. With our Regenerative Producer Crossover coming up in June, the prospect of adding spices and fruits from this Sri Lankan example to the assortment of farmers in other countries excites me too. With the help of social businesses all over the value chain and an army of conscious consumers we could send development aid to the world through our everyday choices: transparently and abundantly rewarding the actual producers who need it most. I am proud to work in such a business, and to see our vision expanding to spices through The Good Spice. Together we have already sowed the seeds for change - and this visit has proved to me that our shared impact will only grow.