This coffee comes to us from the women producers of KSU Item Reje Gayo co-op in central Aceh, Indonesia, and is part of our Women Coffee Producer Program.
Reje Gayo accounts for a number of smallholder farmers who delivercherry to the processing facility, as most of the producershave very little land, and also grow various other crops, including avocado, orange, guava, banana, and even cinnamon.
There are a total of 282 producers that contributed coffee to this specific lot, all of whom are women. These women either own, or manage a farm of an average area of 1.5 hectares. The Item Reje Gayo cooperative works with this group of women producers, helping to educate in terms of production practices, and overseeing the application of a premium that was included in the purchase of this coffee. The use of the premium was decided by majority vote taken among all women members at a village meeting. This year’s premium will be put towards purchasing new farm tools: shovels, hoes, saws, and shears—for all members. As for the future, Reje Gayo believes this program will continue to grow and promote the ability of women producers through education and an organized support system.
The coffee is picked and depulped, then given a brief "pre-dry" until it is between 30–50% moisture; the coffee is then brought for hulling while the beans are still relatively wet, which removes their parchment layer. they are spread on patios to dry for three days.. Reje Gayo's plans for the future include the distribution of organic fertilizers, provision of coffee shade plants such as avocado, basic construction training, and the distributionof coffee seeds. Reje Gayo is also a partner with us on our Women Producer program, which provides a premium price to coffees from the nearly 300 female producers who are members of the group.
For more information about coffee production in Sumatra, visit our Sumatra Origin Page.
