Fair Trade Organic Sumatra Mandheling

In 2006 the Permata Gayo Co-op was established with only 50 farmers from 5 different villages. By 2007 the co-op received its organic certification and membership expanded by an additional 450 farmers. Two years later in 2009, member ranks swelled to 1,500 individuals—many of whom were women working both at the farm level and within co-op management. Permata Gayo operates its own cupping and training program, located at their office and cupping facility, which was remodeled in 2010. Several times a year members now have the opportunity to collaborate with green buyers and local collectors in order to identify quality issues and spurn improvements. Members are also able to access an arabica varietal and shade tree nursery, that to date has produced over 500,000 seedlings of a wide variety of plants including coffee, mahogany and an assortment of avocado, citrus, durian and guava. Membership can use the coffee seedlings to replace old or damaged vines, and the non-coffee seedlings can be used to provide natural shade cover and boost overall biodiversity in the event of a low-yielding harvest. The co-op aims to continually increase its yields of Fair Trade Organic Sumatra coffee while simultaneously increasing the income for its members, year-over-year through a focus on seed production, soil management, pest control and improved drying and fermentation facilities.

Coffee premiums provided by the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance programs have already afforded Permata Gayo members a number of successes such as the establishment of food assistance programs, women’s pregnancy and health programs and the creation of sustainability and environment conservation initiatives. The vast majority of Permata Gayo Co-op’s Fair Trade Organic Sumatra production is exported to the United States, but together Germany, The U.K. and Taiwan account for a large portion of the remaining yield.

Throughout Aceh arabica farms benefit from ideal growing conditions and microclimates provided by the region’s vast pine forests and the widespread availability of volcanic soil. Thankfully in this area the production of coffee has proved itself to be viable and also one of the best economic options for locals who have had to endure long periods of civil war and conflict. Farmers are responsible for growing and harvesting their cherries but the rest is handled by local community collectors, as is traditional throughout much of Sumatra and Sulawesi. Collectors then handle the pulping, washing and drying before transporting the remaining parchment down from the mountains to the co-op’s warehouse. Permata Gayo operates their own dry mill in the city of Medan and oversees the final milling stages before sending the green roughly 20 miles down the road to the Belawan port for export.