Coffee is one of the main sources of income for farming families in the Gayo Highlands where the women play a role in coffee processing from planting, maintaining, harvesting and processing coffee ready for export.
The role of the Koperask Kopi Wanita Gayo (Women’s Coffee Cooperative) in increasing the main source of income is by procuring premium quality specialty coffee processing facilities, which can generate added value for their coffee sales by 20-30% of the selling price of green coffee.
The purpose of this project was to increase the 100 raising coffee drying beds to 300 by providing an additional 200 beds to improve the quality of the drying process during the wet season and prevent any possible fermentation in the coffee. The benefits are to facilitate the drying process and creating financial impact. The women are able to get special coffee orders from several buyers for a washed and honey processed coffee. The difference in price, compared to the semi-washed coffee, can reach $1.00 USD/kg The drying beds are now available and being used by a total of 409 coffee farmers at the processing site.
Using a raised drying bed provides the following benefits:
- Cleanliness – avoiding direct contact with the ground and floor;
- Efficient – processing time is more efficient and coffee can be stored in a windy room so that the heat can be lowered slowly and the moisture content can be lowered slowly;
- Aroma and taste – does not change due to water content stored as in the process of collecting coffee in the sacks.
They express gratitude to Kerry Global and the Café Femenenio Foundation for the support to the coffee farmers who are members of KOKOWAGAYO and cooperation of various others providing assistance to them.