Ethiopia Washed Womens Sidamo

£11.00–£21.00

Cupping Notes – Praline | Black Tea | Violet | Honey

Product Description

Ethiopia Womens Sidamo Washed

The Bulessa Washing Station is run by Tizita Bizuneh and managed by a team of 15 full time female workers, with up to 100 additional seasonal workers during harvest season. The coffee itself is grown between 1,650 – 1,850masl and is farmed by majority female smallholder farmers in the local area. Tizita started this project with the goal of empowering women working in coffee from production to management of the station, something that has already become a reality at Bulesa. As the project has evolved, the scheme has developed and started providing educational and agricultural workshops for children and women across the community. Further to the empowerment project, the contributing farmers are also registered and a part of the Kerchanshe support network set up by Israel Degfa.

Israel is one of Kamba’s ( our coffee source at farm level ) shareholders and the owner of the Ethiopian export company, Kerchanshe. The term ‘vertical integration’ is one that is used a lot in specialty coffee, but our sourcing strategy in Ethiopia is exactly that. As well as his stake in Kamba and ownership of Kerchanshe, Israel and his team also own a variety of mills, washing stations and private farms across the coffee producing regions of Ethiopia. Ultimately, the money that these coffees are sold for by Kamba at the end of the chain, goes in part back to Israel and is reinvested in the Ethiopian coffee community. The work of Kerchanshe stretches far beyond coffee, too. Israel has set up the Buna Qala Charity and a Smallholder Membership scheme that reinvests profits back into community projects and healthcare, education, agricultural and financial incentives.