When I travelled to the legendary Ethiopian coffee lands I met proud communities who, despite producing one of the world’s most sought-after commodities, continue to live in poverty.
After flying into Addis Ababa at dawn, we drove over 400km to the Southern Nations, soaking in the lush emerald rainforests and rusty brown mineral-rich soil stretching as far as the eye can see. The poverty in settlements we passed along the route was tangible; 64% of the population have no access to clean, safe water and most communities have no electricity.
Meanwhile coffee forms the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy, accounting for around 60% of foreign income. Whilst an estimated 15 million people rely on some aspect of production for their livelihood, 98% of Ethiopian coffee is produced by peasants on small farms who earn less in a day than the cost of an average cup of coffee in the UK.
We finally reached Yirgacheffe about an hour after nightfall. Located between 1,880 and 1,919 metres above sea level, the area is widely considered the birthplace of coffee and arguably remains the best arabica producing region in the world. The next morning I went to Hafurissa Co-operative and saw coffee bushes grown under shade to produce beans with a very unique flavour, intercropped with avocado and mango to further influence the taste.
Hafurissa is part of Yirgacheffe Co-operative Union (YFCU), representing around 30,000 farmer members. As a result of careful production methods, their coffee is both Fairtrade and organic certified. Before they became Fairtrade certified, 1kg of coffee commanded 2 Birr (6p) but now, members of the cooperative earn 12 Birr (37p) per kg through the Fairtrade market. And with the additional Fairtrade Premium, the cooperative has been able to invest in developing social projects. Standing proud at the entrance to Hafurissa is an electricity pylon which is part of one such project bringing electricity to the local village.
I met coffee farmer Kassu Eriba, who is a member of the cooperative. He explained how his life has improved over the last four years, “Before the union formed, the price we got for our coffee was very low and we struggled to survive … We didn’t have electricity, we couldn’t send our children to school. Also the road was bad. Now that Fairtrade is supporting us, we see a very big change. Our life is getting better and better.”
Now 90% of the children in the community are gaining an education following the decision of the cooperative’s members to invest an additional classroom at the local elementary school. Previously they had to travel 3km to Yirgacheffe to go to school or miss out altogether. Eriba’s seven children are already benefitting, as he says: “Education is important. I want to send all my children to school so they can have a proper profession.”
Such community improvements are directly related to increased volumes of exports. Fairtrade workers are also paid above the national minimum wage of 450 Birr (£14) per month, earning 500 Birr (£15) for sorting coffee at the processing plant. They receive training at the cooperative, which also has a workers’ rights policy enabling workers to bargain on improving wages and conditions even further. And Shiferaw Andualem, deputy manager of YFCU says all of this has improved people’s lives. “If coffee sales increase, livelihoods will also continue to improve and even more children will go to school. But more of the value within the supply chain needs to go to farmers,” he says.
Currently farmers get 5% of the value of a cup of coffee, or 40p per kg. In theory they could add more value if they roasted in country, but the more processed the beans are, the higher the taxes charged for the product to come into Europe, due to trade rules.
And whilst farmers in the Yirgacheffe district have a relatively good livelihood from September to June thanks to the harvest, by July and August times become tougher. It’s the height of the rainy season when they are unable to process their coffee to earn a bit of extra money. Many don’t have enough food during this period of chulga (food suffering).
Eriba, who lives on his farm and owns another plot in the neighbourhood, describes this rainy season as hard, they cannot afford bread or meat, but his family has a vegetable patch and they survive on cabbage, sweet potato and ensette (false banana). But he is proud of growing Yirgacheffe coffee, which he says is the best in the world, and of course he wants to do more than just survive. And that’s why he wants to sell more of his coffee under Fairtrade terms. “It feels like the community is more in charge. We are the owners of our destinies … But you must buy more so that we can continue to improve our lives … I have limited means, land and family. Coffee helps me run my life. It is my life.”
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