Importer Focus Series #4 // Kar Yee Cheung & Stewart Hamilton-Deans at Karst Organics

Kar Yee and Stewart are the husband and wife team behind Karst Organics, a micro importer focusing solely on coffee grown in Timor-Leste. Ludwika and I first tasted their coffee in early 2022 and at the time it was an entirely new origin for us. We didn’t know anything about the country or that they even grew coffee there. We’ve since learned that it’s one of the world’s youngest nations, having gained independence in 2002 after four centuries of Portuguese colonisation and another 25 years of Indonesian occupation.

We wanted to work with Karst from the beginning because it was clear we had alignment on our ethics and that they were doing something really different and interesting. Also from the very first email chain Stewart was transparent about their pricing and actively shared what they pay farmers. We admired their transparency and wanted to support their work.

But in addition to all that, the way the coffees tasted also got our attention. In 2022 they were interesting and clean and we had notes ranging from mirabelle plum and fruit tea to cedar and leather. The first two years we tried their coffee they sold out before we were able to secure a contract. The following year we jumped at the chance to cup pre-shipment samples and managed to secure our first lot of Tau-Rema, which we’re now roasting for a third year in a row.

It has been remarkable to notice the improvement in the quality of their coffees, which were good the first year, but just got better in subsequent years. In fact, Stewart told us that this year they sold 80% of the coffee before the harvest even finished. Karst is an example of a uniquely sustainable business model in the coffee industry and their success gives us hope for the future.

Steampunk Importer Focus Series

Your work is rooted in long-term relationships with farmers in Timor-Leste. How did your relationships with these farmers begin, how did you build trust and how have your relationships with them changed as you’ve worked together over multiple harvest seasons?

Our relationship with the community and farmers of Letefoho first began in 2017 during which time I (Stewart) was already living and working in Timor-Leste as the project manager of an educational and capacity building project with the Timorese military. A Timorese colleague, Antonio, who happened to be from Letefoho, had invited Kar-Yee and I to visit his home village one weekend so we could get out of Dili (the capital city) and see first-hand the beautiful mountains and hillsides of the country, many of which I had been told were covered with lush coffee forests for as far as the eye could see. Having happily accepted my colleague’s offer – and happy to escape Dili’s oppressive heat and humidity for a few days – we headed off to the mountains in a hired 4×4 and within an hour of our journey were struck by three things: firstly, how much cooler the temperature was once you head into the mountains, secondly, how bad the condition of the so called roads were and thirdly, how imposing the shade trees were that stretched as far as the eye could see, exactly as my colleague had described.

We spent the weekend with Antonio’s uncle & aunt, Tiu Francisco and Tia Filomena, third generation coffee farmers from the village of Rotutu. During our stay they showed us around their coffee forest which in addition to coffee trees, was also home to other crops such as avocadoes, mangoes, potatoes and yams to name but a few. Tiu Francisco explained that the forest, in addition to providing an income during the coffee harvest (June – August) through the sale of cherries, also provided families with daily fruit and vegetable staples. Tiu Francisco also explained about the relationship between people, the land, Mother Nature and his ancestors and how we are all interconnected. Having only ever seen photos of mono-cropped coffee under direct sunlight, we were both astounded that coffee could be grown under shade trees alongside other crops and the agroforestry system that we had been introduced to was a first for us and seemed so harmonious. We were also captivated with the traditional animist belief system that Francisco had described and although day-to-day life was clearly challenging, there was something enchanting about the spiritual connection the community had with Mother Nature.

She suggested focussing on improving processing methods to elevate quality so that’s what we did! We did a lot of research, asked people in the industry for advice on how to improve the processing of fully-washed coffee and then passed this information directly to farmers through training sessions which we delivered in the field. For those farmers that wanted to sell parchment (like farmers from the village of Tau-Rema, the coffee which Steampunk have supported these past 2-years), we supplied the necessary materials such as fermentation buckets, African drying beds and new pulping machines. For those that wanted to sell cherry, we built a small processing facility and employed a team to oversee the processing of this. It was during this period that we could really see for the first time that we were gaining the trust of the community. We were living and working alongside partner farmers which included sourcing all cherry every day from each individual household in our pick-up truck (something we continue to do till this day) and also collecting all parchment ourselves at the end of the harvest; the community was definitely surprised that we weren’t afraid to get involved and get our hands dirty and they respected us for this! We were completely self-funded so all materials and our time were provided free of charge. The community could see that we were taking a big risk and even though they thought we were mad, started to buy into Karst’s vision. After that year’s harvest, we sent further samples back to Anette and she cupped four lots at between 84.5 – 85.5 points and subsequently became our first buyer. The hard work and investment had paid off, and we manged to export a total of 4.8 tonnes in our first year: not a large quantity at all but processing manageable quantities that focus on quality not volume was – and still is – our priority.

The trust that we have built with our partner farmers has grown from strength to strength over the past 7-years of exporting from Timor-Leste and an important part of this is the pricing strategy that we have adopted. From our side, we have steadily increased our purchase price from $0.40c per kilo to $0.85c per kilo for high quality red cherry and increased our parchment price from $2.85c per kilo to $4.00 per kilo for speciality grade parchment. When you bear in mind the $0.32c per kilo purchase price of commercial companies back in 2018, we have definitely offered an alternative option to the commercial model for those willing to put in the work and this has made a significantly positive impact on an average household’s income. We have now guaranteed that even if market conditions fall, our purchase price (quoted above) will not drop and we are extremely proud of this.

Another contributing factor to the trust that we have built is that we have always tried to be farmer focussed and involve communities in the entire process. Over the last 7 years, each of the 7 groups that we work with have met some of our partner roasters on video call and also had an opportunity to try their coffee which we always take back to origin so farmers can cup and better understand the profile expectations of the speciality market in the UK. This has helped them to feel more involved in and better understand their position in the supply chain and with that we have seen an increased sense of pride and motivation. Before, we would sometimes have to say ‘no’ to a farmer if their coffee quality wasn’t quite good enough, but now, we can have complete confidence in each groups’ quality as they know that if they do not meet our partner roasters expectations, they will lose the opportunity to export their coffee to the UK, which has given them an opportunity to significantly increase their household income over the years.  

Why is it important for Karst to focus entirely on coffee from Timor-Leste?

Prior to setting-up Karst, I (Stewart) worked for 4-years in Timor-Leste working in both the private and public sector. During that period, I witnessed the launch of many new projects and businesses, some of which were successful and some of which were not. It was soon apparent that those that were successful committed 100% of their time to their respective business or project and worked steadily to meet realistic objectives, build solid foundations and ensure that their efforts were sustainable. These companies and organisations understood the context of Timor-Leste: a young, underdeveloped country with bucket loads of potential but without the infrastructure, resources or human capacity to realise that potential. With this in mind, we opened our export company in Timor-Leste before we opened our import company in the UK with a view to building solid foundations upon which to export. As a registered business in Timor-Leste, we employ a team of local staff and pay salaries that are comfortably above the national minimum wage. We also make social security contributions to our employees and pay government taxes. With so much reliance on support from NGO’s and foreign aid, we believe that the private sector should also be a vehicle to help establish and grow Timor-Leste’s economy.

We knew that if we were going to help our partner farmers unlock the full-potential of their coffee and for Karst to be a sustainable business, it would need to be a joint collaboration between ourselves and the farmers and the most important thing we could contribute would be our time, much like the organisations and companies observed before. Being on the ground in Timor-Leste for 6 months of the year means that we work in collaboration with the coffee farming communities so we can overcome the challenges that we face together during the harvest which (as discussed above) helps to build trust and strengthen relationships. As we have already alluded to, we buy cherry every day during the harvest in addition to overseeing individual household parchment processing which we purchase at the end of the harvest. This is a hands-on role which requires a solid 4-month commitment in the mountains and a role which we are not planning to step back from any time soon (or until our bodies don’t allow us to do so anymore!). Although time consuming, working in this way gives us complete traceability and we know exactly where our coffee comes from and who picked or processed it. 

Our role as exporter has also kept us busy outside of the harvest time with coffee tree rehabilitation activities. We have been a part of the government’s rehabilitation scheme which started in 2022 and has encouraged farmers with financial incentives to stump their old coffee trees and carry out general forest maintenance with a focus on improving yields and ultimately increasing household income. Although we only work with 150 households, this took an incredible amount of time and careful monitoring over a 3-year period to ensure this ran successfully.

Focussing solely on Timor-Leste also means that we know our origin very well: we speak Tetun fluently (the national language of Timor-Leste) and we understand the cultural sensitivity required when working in such a highly spiritual and religious region such as Letefoho. Whilst we had previously discussed exploring another origin, such as Indonesia, Timor-Leste’s neighbour, we already have our hands full as it is and I don’t know where we would find the time in the day to commit to this in the same way that we have committed ourselves to Timor-Leste.

Climate change, infrastructure limitations and remote access are significant challenges in Letefoho and other communities you work with. How are the farmers you work with navigating these and what does the future look like?

Unfortunately, infrastructure limitations are still a major concern for the farming communities of Letefoho with a lack of investment at governmental level in roads, water and electricity supply. Of these the biggest challenge that we have seen during our time living and working in the region is the condition of the roads. There is currently a construction project aiming to create a main thoroughfare in Letefoho which is positive, however, work is yet to begin on the road connecting Letefoho to the district’s capital, Gleno, and until this happens it is very difficult for farmers to take their products to market and similarly, difficult for companies to transport goods and materials to Letefoho to help to develop the area. At the time of writing, we are constructing a new warehouse and cupping lab in Letefoho but work has stopped since mid-January as the muddy conditions are too dangerous to transport goods due to the heavy rains that the wet season brings. As Southeast Asia’s poorest nation state, it will come as no surprise that Timor-Leste relies heavily on foreign aid and the World Bank has initially agreed to loan approx. $40 million USD to help fund the construction of a new road from Gleno to Letefoho with work scheduled to start this year. Stay tuned to our Instagram account during this year’s harvest to see if this work does indeed go ahead and what it will mean to the farming communities we work with.

Most of our partner farmers don’t have a clean water supply or electricity installed in their households and we have also experienced long periods of time during the harvest when we ourselves don’t have electricity or water in our rented accommodation and will have to go to a well to collect water and use candles during the evening to provide light. We are continually asked by some of our groups for assistance with water storage solutions and whilst we have tried to provide storage tanks where we can, we do not have the expert knowledge required in this field to be as impactful as we would like (whilst we try to do as much as we can to help the community when asked we have to remind ourselves sometimes that we are a coffee exporter/importer, not an NGO). For this reason, we are currently looking to partner with local agencies who specialise in water provision to explore how we can resolve this challenge and in particular focus on solutions for rainwater catchment during the wet season. 

With regards to climate change, weather patterns have definitely changed during the time that we have worked in Letefoho with extended wet seasons becoming more common place resulting in more challenging drying conditions during the harvest. For example, last year’s drying times for our fully-washed coffees were on average 10-14 days and in comparison, 2020’s drying times were on average 6-8 days. We are working together with partner farmers to navigate this challenge which has meant supplying mobile drying racks to each of the 150 individual households that we work with and also providing a moisture meter to each lead farmer of the 7 groups we support to check their members parchment to ensure consistency with moisture levels and quality.

Your way of operating (spending months alongside farmers during the harvest season and months in the UK selling coffee) gives you a unique perspective on the industry. What do you wish more people understood.

I think it’s important that people understand that this isn’t just about the relationship between us and our partner farmers and that the role of our partner roasters is equally important in the supply chain of speciality coffee. We are incredibly lucky to currently have great partner roasters here in the UK who understand the context of Timor-Leste and are happy to pay our offer price for our green beans. In the past – and before we became established – some roasters we approached loved our coffees but would try to squeeze us on price which was frustrating. Our green beans have always been competitively priced so to ask for a discount on an 85 point fully-washed coffee, knowing the labour involved (particularly in an origin such as Timor-Leste where everything is processed manually) was really showing a lack of understanding for what we were trying to achieve regarding our pricing strategy. If roasters squeeze us on price then it makes it very difficult for us to return to Timor each year and pay a price to the farmers for their coffee which makes coffee farming sustainable and allows them to support their families.

Another contributing factor to the trust that we have built is that we have always tried to be farmer focussed and involve communities in the entire process. Over the last 7 years, each of the 7 groups that we work with have met some of our partner roasters on video call and also had an opportunity to try their coffee which we always take back to origin so farmers can cup and better understand the profile expectations of the speciality market in the UK. This has helped them to feel more involved in and better understand their position in the supply chain and with that we have seen an increased sense of pride and motivation. Before, we would sometimes have to say ‘no’ to a farmer if their coffee quality wasn’t quite good enough, but now, we can have complete confidence in each groups’ quality as they know that if they do not meet our partner roasters expectations, they will lose the opportunity to export their coffee to the UK, which has given them an opportunity to significantly increase their household income over the years.  

We have been asked this question on a number of occasions since we’ve been exporting coffee out of Timor-Leste, so let’s try to shed some light on this topic now but before we do, let’s consider a few points.

Plot size and coffee tree health

The size of a farmers’ forest (farm) and how healthy the coffee trees are within will make a significant impact on the amount of potential household income. Clearly, healthy, well-maintained trees will produce a greater yield and it could be the case that a farmer with a 1-hectare farm that has been well looked after can often produce more coffee than his neighbour with a 2-hectare plot which has been neglected. For this reason, a focus on coffee tree rehabilitation has been a priority for many companies here with the specific goal of increasing yield.

How much does a farmer earn through sales of coffee to Karst?

Note: 345kg parchment needed to receive $1,380, equivalent to Timor-Leste’s yearly national minimum wage. 32 of 144 farmers earnt above this amount from sales of their coffee.

Note: 1,623kg cherry needed to receive $1,380, equivalent to Timor-Leste’s yearly national minimum wage. 7 of 65 earnt above this amount through sales of their coffee.

It is worth mentioning that some farmers sold parchment in addition to their cherry and vice versa. All farmers would have also sold some lower grade coffee to commercial companies as well which would have meant an increase in income from the sale of their coffee.

Is the amount of money a farmer earns during the harvest enough to support their household for the year?

Trying to give context to this question

It’s difficult to measure how much is ‘enough’ for a smallholder coffee farmer so one comparison that we can make to try to give some context is to consider the government’s national minimum wage as a marker for economic stability. This was set by the government here in 2011 and still stands at $115 per month ($1,380 per year). Just to be clear, we do not advocate this as a worthy salary and we hope that current campaigns will see the national minimum wage increased next year (current negotiations suggest this could be increased to $150 which is still low) but for the purposes of this article, the $115 per month baseline salary gives some context to the economical situation here in Timor-Leste.

Slow and steady improvement

There’s still a long way to go but things are moving in the right direction with regards to the earning potential of our partner farmers. Increased yields are a direct result of farmers willingness to now rehabilitate their coffee trees (this was initially met with some resistance) and as volumes have gone up each year, so has our price.

A final mention to our exceptional partner roasters who have never squeezed us down on pricing over the years. Simply put, we could not continue to come back to Timor-Leste year-on-year and continue to increase our pricing (quality dependent of course) if we were pushed down on our margins. Thanks for your support and understanding the context of Timor-Leste.

The pulped skins of coffee cherries have long been used as a tea-like infusion in some coffee producing origins. This by-product of the pulping process – more commonly known by its Spanish name, cascara – can be brewed as a tea and offers a light and refreshing alternative to coffee. What’s more, cascara is believed to contain important antioxidants such as vitamin C and zinc so in addition to tasting great, it’s helping strengthen your body’s immune system too.

Why do we rarely see cascara on the menu of our favourite cafes ?

In recent years, cascara has gained noteriety in the UK and caused some confusion as it is considered a ‘novel food’ and is therefore required to undergo appropriate testing before being deemed fit to comply with UK food safety regulations. In other countries however, the categorisation of cascara is less vague making it easier to import, market and sell to consumers. One such country with an already established appetite for cascara is Japan, so we were delighted when our friends at Japanese NGO, Peace Winds (based in Timor-Leste), approached us during the 2024 harvest and asked if we would be interested in trying to process some cascara for them so as to sell in the domestic market in Timor and also to export to Japan.

How is cascara processed ?

As with coffee, high-quality cascara starts with ripe, red cherries, only in the case of cascara it’s the skins we are interested in (not the seed contained within). Simply put, the riper the cherry the more likely the skin will have retained some of the fruit’s sweetness and it is this that we are wanting to taste in the cup when drinking. As the pulped skin of the cherry is the only ingredient in cascara it is lucky for us that our processing facility has an abundance of freshly pulped, intensley red cherry skins which we would ordinarily use as an ingredient for fertiliser. It was also lucky for us that maun Simao (Karst’s ever dependable Field Manager) took the lead with the processing and taught us and our team, how this would need to be processed. Check out the following video to see what’s involved.

What does it taste like ?

Like most fruit or herbal ‘tea’ infusions, cascara has a mouth-watering aroma with a subtle sweetness in the cup. In the case of cascara, this sweetness is comparable to red date and there is also a touch of cranberry sharpness. It is delicious both hot and cold, served either as a calming alternative to coffee in the afternoon or as a refreshing chilled drink which will certainly quench your thirst on a hot summer’s day.

Why is cascara important ?

Put simply, an established market for cascara  would give coffee farmers an opportunity to increase their household income. In the case of our trial lot of cascara during the 2024 harvest, we were able to increase the price we paid for cherry at farmgate (from 0.65c per kilo 0.80c per kilo) knowing that we were able to recuperate the increased cost from the sales of the cascara to the Japanese NGO we partnered with for export to Japan. To put that into context, if a farmer sold us 1,000kg of cherry at $0.80c per kilo during the 2024 harvest, he earnt $800. This is a $150 increase based on the $650 he would have earnt based on the price we originally agreed upon at the start of the harvest ($0.65c per kilo) . Not bad for a product which is essentially a byproduct.

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