Located 7 hours drive from the city of Padang in the Kayo Aro District of West Sumatra, this coffee comes from small coffee gardens (0.25ha - 2ha) which sit in the shadow of the beautiful Kerinci volcano on the edge of Kerinci National Park, home to the endangered Sumatran tiger. The people who inhabit this region are originally from the island of Java and migrated to this region in the 1960s as part of a Government programme looking to spread people to available land to farm. There are large Government tea plantations that dominate the landscape and it is only in the last seven years that coffee has been grown here alongside the more traditional rice and vegetables.
The Alko Cooperative running since 2013, has 400 farmer members with a total of 291 ha in coffee spread across 17 villages. This cooperative is unique in that it recieved funds from the WWF for a multifaceted project over a year to help improve their infrastructure and educate the farmers about working in harmony with the local environment and protecting the Kerinci National Park.
Coffee Processing by women in Indonesia
Both the honey and the natural processed coffees we have available are processed at the main centres where greater attention and care can be given to the coffees with all the cherry being floated and selected. They also have an electronic system and database online that producers have access to, showing their coffee deliveries, prices paid as well as general information about sales the cooperative makes and also farming education and information they can reach.
The natural coffees are floated and separated before being dried for about 40 days on raised beds depending on the weather.
The honey is pulped and then dried on patio tent floor for 2 days before being transferred to the raised beds.