People often ask me to describe the coffees I sell and the coffee farmers I work with, so I asked Okta to write a simple description. It was more interesting than I thought it would be, so I share it. It is reassuring to think that I am working with such farmers.
Story from Mr Rikardus, A Coffee Farmer
Mr. Rikardus is a head of Lembaga Advokasi dan Penguatan Masyarakat Sipil (LAPMAS) in Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara that helped farmers on land dispute issues. Since 2010, he has been focussing on coffee plantation in Bajawa because he realized that coffee production gives farmers good opportunity to improve their economic condition. He leads a group of farmers to focus on increasing the coffee quality by doing sustainable agriculture practices, like using organic fertilizer and adapting Agroforestry method. Then, LAPMAS become the first NGO that works closely with coffee farmers, focusing on capacity building. Mr. Rikardus and his members cultivate Flores Bajawa Arabica Coffee, which already registered to be geographical indication coffee. His vision is to make Flores Bajawa Arabica Coffee become a Primadonna in the market.
Description About Coffee
Flores Bajawa Arabica Coffee is produced from Arabica coffee in Bajawa with altitudes of 1,000 m – 1,650 m above sea level. The variety of their coffee is S 795 which is very resistant to pests and diseases. Flores Bajawa Arabica Coffee Beans in the market are classified as a specialty Arabica coffee, which the maximum number of physical defects is usually 5% and a maximum moisture content of 12%. Farmers will harvest the coffee cherry, and in post-harvest processing, the coffee beans will pass the fermentation process then it will be dried. Lastly, farmers will sort only the best quality green beans to roast or sell to customers.