Kerinci
SUMATRA
The 250 members of the Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative live and farm on a plateau that sits at the foot of Mount Kerinci. With this natural lot, the cherries are rigorously sorted, then dried in thin layers on raised beds covered by polytunnels to protect the coffee from rain or direct sunlight.
With more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is one of the most diverse coffee origins in terms of geographical and cultural diversity. Coffee has been at the centre of trade ever since the Dutch planted the first seeds in the late 1600s. Every region has developed its own style of production and has its own set of coffee varieties. The most well-known regions for specialty coffee are North Sumatra, South-Sulawesi, West-Java, Flores and East-Timor. Almost all farms on Sumatra are small, on average between 0.5 to 2.5 hectares. In addition to growing coffee, many smallholder farmers also work as hired labourers at the nearby tea plantations. When the harvest is finished, coffee farmers
will go there and pick leaves under contracted labour. There are more and more initiatives by farmers on Sumatra to organize themselves into cooperatives. Cooperatives can share resources, organize training and negotiate better prices.