Ethiopia Nano Challa

The washing station was opened with the support from Technoserve, a NGO that supported farmers to set up washing stations and create a new cooperative structure, resulting in the Nano Challa cooperative consisting of 408 farmers. The aim of the project was to increase sustainability, quality and prices through transparent and environmentally friendly practices. From the onset they used eco pulpers and built water treatment systems based on Vetiver grass which naturally filter the water from production before it is pumped into lagoons to be absorbed into the earth.

An average smallholder farm size owns half a hectare. Most coffees are organic by default. A farmer typically has less than 1500 trees per hectare.

Coffee cherries are harvested by family members, then hand-sorted to remove unripes and overripe cherries before they are delivered to the washing station for processing. The farmers will be paid based on the current cherry prices in the area that day. The cooperative will pay the members a dividend as a second payment when the coffee is sold at a premium. This is one coffee that we have been consistently buying over the years as we love the classic flavours of a good washed coffee from Ethiopia, but featured as an espresso this round.