Farming
Coffee farming in Shan State
Shan State is an important area for diverse forests and biodiversity. Shade grown coffee in natural forests contributes to better quality, and better prices for farmers.
Coffee farming here is fundamental to food security and combating poverty. For some farmers, it is their only source of cash. We work with our native villages and surrounding areas where the average household size is five people.
Our Danu farmers own small plots with 800-1,200 trees per farm. They also grow avocado, jackfruit, potato, tomato, ginger, cauliflower, and other vegetables for food and a second income source.
We source all our coffee from over 400 families across 120 hectares. Half of our farmers are youth aged 20 to 30 years old.
Harvest
Coffee flowers in April and is harvested in November. Our 400 farmers deliver their freshly picked cherries to a central location or directly to our CWS. They are weighed, inspected, graded, and sorted. We pay above market rates for specialty grade cherries.
Coffee cherries are collected by 30 coffee collectors, including skilled women, Mrs. Aye Mu, Ms. Hnin Yu Khaing, and Mrs. Haymar Aung. They are part of our core team in Ywangan, Nwar Ban Gyi Village, Let Pan Pin village, in Daw village, southern Shan State.
Fair prices for quality coffee
We pay farmers a premium price for quality coffee. I buy good quality coffee cherries from smallholder farmers at fair prices so they can become more income secure and less vulnerable. This removes farmers from being price takers, paid below market rates.
The addition income through premium prices supports better farming practices and investment into their production with:
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Improved pruning
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Proper natural fertilizer using coffee pulp
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Shade cropping
These changes are fully supported through Ywangan Amayar Company. We work directly with farmers and collectors, in particular women, to ensure coffee quality. This is important because the price depends on the quality.