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What did you taste?
From the Importer:
Mr. Mengesha Derso owns and operates 15 hectares of land in the highlands of Gedeo Zone, located in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. This region, and Gedeo Zone in particular, is renowned for its production of high-quality Yirgachefe coffee. At 62 years old, Mr. Mengesha brings 62 years of farming experience to the area. His dedication to producing top-quality coffee has earned him recognition from government organizations.
Mengeche Derso // PRODUCER
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Mr. Mengesha has 12 children. Along with four of his children, he actively works on the coffee farm. They use natural fertilizers such as animal manure and plant remnants to enrich the soil. His farm, situated at 2300 MASL, is one of the many in the area known for producing premium coffee.
Single Farmer Project
The Single Farmer Project is the result of an effort to support Ethiopian producers with a marketplace for farm-traceable coffees. Back in 2012, during a turbulent time in Ethiopia's coffee exporting history, Partner and CEO Jason Long worked with an established cooperative to export some of the first ever truly “Farm Traceable” lots from Ethiopia. This was the first time a roaster could highlight the individual farmer for their Ethiopian Coffee. It was the start of an incredible project and truly began the movement for traceability in Ethiopia as we see more often today. This project also gave us some very fun stories like literally bringing a backpack full of Ethiopian Birr to Yirgacheffe with COO Noah Namowicz to pay the premiums directly to these farmers who participated.
Halo Beriti // WASHING STATION
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This project is made possible in conjunction with important export partners supporting and bringing to market individual farmer lots. Samples are sent out to potential buyers, price is negotiated on the farmers' behalf, and contracts are only accepted when the producer agrees on a sales price and their name is on the contract for each coffee they sell.
“Our goals with this project would be to help garner and develop long-term relationships between the producers we are already working with and coffee roasting companies that share in the values of transparency, traceability, and relationship that this program represents," says Claudia, green-coffee buyer for Cafe Imports.