Sidama Buncho Washed, Ethiopia | Filter

High up in the rich area of Shantawene are a collection of smallholder coffee producers within the Sidama region of Ethiopia. Roughly 940 producers here, growing coffee on small plots of land, gather their cherries to be processed at the Buncho Washing Station. The owner of the mill, Asefa Dukamo, was introduced to coffee at a young age as his parents were cultivating coffee and other garden crops. In his teens, he began to supply neighbouring coffee washing stations with cherries purchased from nearby relatives and villagers in addition to his own family’s farm. He realized that there were not many washing stations nearby, and he had to travel great distances to deliver his coffee. Thus began the idea to construct his own washing station to reduce the travel time for coffee producers in his region. As well as coffee, producers in the region will plant other crops such as sugar-cane, a variety of fruits and “Inset”; a common indigenous plant that can be prepared as food in different forms. Income from coffee is important, but minimal for most farmers due to the small size of their farms. As such, inputs are minimal – most coffee grown in the region is 100% organic, though not certified due to high certification costs, as farmers simply do not have the money to apply chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.