Worka Chelichele Washing Station

Cranberry / Dark Chocolate / Lychee

From Sucafina:

Farming methods in the region remain largely traditional. Yirgacheffe farmers typically intercrop their coffee plants with other food crops. This method is common among smallholders because it maximizes land use and provides food for their families.

In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also organic-by-default. Farmers in Yirgacheffe typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually by the immediate family.

To capitalize on the magnificent climate, Worka Chelichele provides training to help farmers produce better quality cherry. Training focuses on procedures for harvesting and transporting cherry.

Farmers selectively handpick cherry and deliver it to Worka Chelichele washing station. At the station, employees hand sort incoming cherry to remove any under- or over-ripes or damaged cherry. Then, parchment and remaining mucilage is transferred to some of the station’s 360 raised drying beds. Coffee is raked frequently to ensure even drying. All drying beds are marked with a code that makes it simple to keep track of traceability and processing status.

Gedeb, a district named for its largest town, in the Gedeo Zone is largely agrarian. According to a 2007 census, about 11% of the population lived in urban areas. The rest of the population lives in rural areas and are predominately subsistence farmers.

Most farmers in the region farm on fewer than 5 hectares (many counting their coffee farms in terms of trees rather than area). Cultivation methods are largely traditional. Families typically farm small plots of land near their homes and intersperse food crops with coffee and other cash crops.

The majority of coffees grown in Gedeb are local landrace varieties (which are often also called Ethiopian heirloom). Other varieties frequently grown in the region are those developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and has done a great deal of work on developing disease-resistant and high-yielding varieties that still demonstrate high cup quality.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀: Various smallholder farmers delivering to Worka Chelichele Washing Station
𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆: Heirloom
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴: Described by the producers as "honey" process"
𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆: Gedeb District (Woreda), Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia

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