As we wait for our 2024 lots to land in the UK and reflect on this year’s harvest in Timor-Leste, we thought now would be a good time to open up a discussion about organic certification. I mean, we must be organically certified right? The name of our company is Karst Organics after all so surely our coffees are certified organic? Just to be clear, they aren’t.

Firstly, we are not opposed to organic certification and we understand that there are certain coffee producing origins where chemical pesticides and fertilisers are used. In cases such as this, an effective way to distinguish coffee that has been grown with natural fertilisers from coffee which has been exposed to chemical fertilisers or pesticides is through organic certification.

Secondly, we support the idea that farmers have an opportunity to sell their coffee at a higher price through gaining certification as this reflects the extra work required to farm through natural practices such as the time-consuming preparation of organic fertilisers and environmentally conscious waste water management.

‘So why don’t you have organic certification then?’, we hear you ask. That’s a fair question and we’re happy to explain why we haven’t chosen to become organically certified at this time.

Just to clarify, we are only talking about the context of Timor-Leste. We are not in a position to comment about other origins so the views that we are presenting here are specific to the origin where we have lived and worked since 2016.

How do you differentiate between farmers who use pesticides and those who don’t?

Timor-Leste’s lack of development due to its complicated and difficult past has meant that little investment or interest has been given to the agricultural sector and more specifically, the coffee industry, its second largest export after oil. Fortuitously or not, this means that ‘Timor-Leste coffee is simply organic by default, meaning that no inorganic fertilisers or chemical inputs such as pesticides are used to produce the coffees. Timor-Leste may be the only country in the world that produces exclusively “organic coffee”’ (National Coffee Sector: Development Plan, Timor-Leste 2019-2030, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries). We use the phrase ‘fortuitously or not’ as it remains to be seen whether or not the country can use this to its advantage or the reality is that developing the sector with an ‘organic by default’ model isn’t sustainable in terms of productivity and commercial fertilisers may need to be used in the future. Of course, we hope that the former wins out over the latter but time will tell here.

In addition to the historical and political context, there is also the cultural aspect to consider. If you’ve had a look around our new website, you’ll have seen that the Timorese have a special relationship with their environment. Their traditional animist beliefs lie at the heart of how communities’ function and this fundamentally starts with a deep-rooted respect for Mother Nature. The thought of adding chemicals to the soil that nourishes the coffee plants and other crops that serve as daily food staples is an abhorrent thought to the farmers in Letefoho whom we have discussed this topic with. Again, this may change going forward as we are fully aware that tradition and culture can be impacted by so called ‘developmental’ activities.

But don’t farmers get paid more for their organically certified coffee?

Firstly, in the context of Timor-Leste, it is the company that’s obtaining the organic certification, not the farmers themselves.

The only company that we know of also working in Letefoho and buying parchment (which went on to be processed as certified organic green beans), paid $3.50 per kg during the 2024 harvest which is exactly the same price that we paid this year. We were recently approached by a cooperative in another district of Timor-Leste who want to start a working relationship with us because they were being paid $3.00 per kg for their parchment that was then sold as organically certified speciality green coffee (unfortunately we won’t be able to form a partnership as we only work out of Letefoho and do not have the capacity or resources to work in other locations currently).

The reality is that a smallholder farmer in Timor-Leste with 1.5 hectares of coffee forest, cannot afford to certify their coffee as organic. Therefore, it is the company who supports the farmer and pays for the auditing process, who then determines the price they pay for the coffee. Some companies may pay a good price, and some may pay less as with the examples given above. What is certain, is that in Timor-Leste, coffee that goes on to be sold as certified organic does not guarantee the farmer is paid more than they might have done if they had sold their parchment to another company who hasn’t invested in organic certification.

So how much does it cost to become certified organic?

We have been quoted an initial cost of $6,000 (subject to increase depending on the scope of our requirement) from a company who works in the region, which would cover the 7 groups that we work with. Travel and accommodation costs would also need to be covered by us for any representatives of the company that would come to Timor-Leste to complete the audit which is estimated to take 8 – 9 days. Based on 1 person visiting to complete the audit, we would estimate a total cost of around $7,500 per year.

Not only is this a considerable annual cost but also – we feel – an unnecessary expense at this time, given Timor-Leste’s current status as possibly the only country in the world that produces exclusively organic coffee. For this reason, we have chosen to prioritise our investment at farm level through providing materials and training to process speciality coffee of exceptional standard and believe that through elevating coffee quality, we are able to pay a higher price for our partner farmers’ coffee.

Final thoughts

Fundamentally, it is our belief that the word ‘organic’ can be used as an independent adjective when speaking about coffee and shouldn’t always be synonymously associated with the word ‘certification’. We hope that roasters and their customers will continue to do their due diligence and fully understand the context of an origin before deeming it necessary for certification to prove that pesticides were not used in the production and processing of a coffee.

As we have already stated, we are not opposed to the idea of organic certification provided that it serves as a force for good to protect the environment, reassures roasters that no pesticides were involved in the processing of a certain coffee and most importantly allows producers a better price for the extra work involved in the farming of organic coffees. We will continue to monitor the development of Timor-Leste’s agricultural sector and if we feel that we need certification to ensure confidence in the above points, we will certainly consider applying.

Drop us an e-mail if you would like to discuss any points raised in this article or check out ‘Timor-Leste’s National Coffee Sector Development Plan 2019 – 2030’.

Since enhancing its reputation as a newly established speciality coffee origin, more interest is being given to Timor-Leste and in particular, the way in which coffee is grown here. Join us as we take a deeper dive into shade grown coffee and find out how our partner roasters are helping our partner farmers to increase their yields.

So, how on earth do you go about planting a coffee forest?

It’s probably easier if we let Simao answer that question so if you click on the video to your left, he’ll show you exactly how he and his colleagues create a coffee forest. As Simao explains, current government guidelines suggest that for every hectare of land, 200 shade trees should be planted.

The shade tree of choice is the leguminous Casuarina which is preferred for the speed at which it grows, the excellent shade which it gives and its ability to nourish the soil with nitrogen. Once the shade seedlings have been planted other crops are also planted alongside in order to aid with soil health and then it is a matter of being patient. It takes 5-years for the newly planted shade tree seedlings to get to a suitable height where they start to give shade from the hot sun and it’s at that point that coffee seedlings can then be planted.

The Ministry of Agriculture recommends that 1 hectare of land can accommodate between 1,600 – 1,800 coffee seedlings and these need to be spaced approximately 2 metres apart when put in the ground. After this, other crops are also interspersed alongside the coffee including yam, arrow root, bananas and mangoes which in addition to adding more nutrients to the soil will also serve as daily food staples. Then it is just a question of waiting for another 4-years until the coffee trees are ready to be harvested for the first time.

So, to summarise, it takes a total time of 9 years to grow an East Timorese coffee forest, from the point at which the first shade tree seedling is planted to the point at which cherries can eventually be picked.

Challenges

One of the things we’re currently supporting our partner farmers with is the growth of new coffee forests with those communities who have land that is yet to be used for coffee production. More importantly perhaps, we are trying to support every individual household that we work with so they can increase their yield per hectare through the replacement and rehabilitation of old coffee trees. The Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste (1975 – 2002) took its toll on the coffee plantations of regions such as Letefoho and many coffee trees were left to grow wild with little maintenance or care given. The result of this sometimes means trees have been left to grow to as tall as 3 metres and lower branches do not produce any significant quantity of fruit. Until these trees are rehabilitated or replaced, the farmers of Letefoho will find it difficult to optimise their yield potential and subsequently maximise their household income.

How roasters are supporting us

For every 10kg of green beans that partner roasters purchase from us, we have pledged to plant one shade or coffee tree seedling at our nursery in Letefoho. We have so far sold 14 tonnes of green beans from the 2023 harvest which translates to 1400 seeds being planted. These will be carefully nurtured by our man on the ground Simao and when the time is right, we will share these with our parter farmers across all groups, prioritising on those households whose coffee forests need the most immediate attention. Our goal is to ensure that in the not too distant future, our partner farmers will have healthy, well-maintained coffee trees yielding a realistic 3kg per tree. If we’re able to do this, that could mean that each hectare of land with 200 shade trees and 1800 coffee trees could have the potential of producing 5,400 kilos of cherry which would be a significant increase in current production.

If you would like to know more about this initiative or become a partner roaster with Karst, get in touch to arrange a video call at the farms in Letefoho during this coming harvest season and we’ll be more than happy to show you around Letefoho’s stunning coffee forests (internet willing!).

Obrigado barak!

Stewart