Coffee connects geographies, markets, cultures and people. And Impact Berry uses coffee as a tool to lever the connections that coffee fuels. As we visit the farm sites frequently in person, we try to make best use of that time spent in the communities. For learning from each other and for finding solutions to every sort of challenges together!
With our growing network in the regions we promote the extension of organic farming practices and permaculture as an approach to farming. We support and advocate for workshops and were invited lately in September 2019 to participate and co-speak in a farming community in Indonesia that grows premium organic robusta coffees.
Together we discussed the importance of taking care of the planet and its inhabitants - and that coffee is actually a leaver for accomplishing this endeavour. And with this were jointly connecting the dots between producing, growing and processing coffee on the one hand and shipping it to the consumer market, roasting and brewing it on the other hand.
That means we on our end had the opportunity to create better understanding about how different coffee varieties, growing conditions and different processing methods on the farm affect the final product, what that really means for operations further down the line and what the implications for the final product are. The community at the same time was able to make us learn a lot about organic farming, broaden our horizon and our understanding of the procedures on site and teach us about traditional Indonesian coffee processing methods, trimming techniques of the plants and specific knowledge about some Robusta varieties.
When asking the farmers, why they grow coffee at highest quality, Aku answered: "...to get the best possible price! So I can pay for my daughter's education." - A straight forward, but also very simple and clear answer. At Impact Berry we can absolutely relate, when it comes to taking care of family and learning.Â
