This cooperative is one we have been working with since 2014 and is now pretty well known across the specialty coffee community thanks to its outstanding quality. This was not always the case though. Coffee has grown in this region for generations thanks to the ideal climate and altitude. However, it was traditionally processed using the natural process which was yielding lower quality lots due to the infrastructure in place. The region of Jimma became synonymous with ‘Djimma Grade 5’ coffee, a well-known commodity grade bean and as a result, farmers received low prices for their coffee earning little income from their crop.

In 2010, around 100 local coffee farmers came together to form Duromina which, in the Oromo language, means ‘to improve their lives.’ With technical support and access to finance from the Gates Foundation supported NGO ‘Technoserve’, the group were able to install a wet mill to start processing fully washed coffee. This improvement almost instantly meant Duromina was able to produce high quality specialty grade coffee achieving prices that reflected this improvement in cup profile and bringing prosperity to the local community. Within two years, Duromina coffee was recognised by an international cupping panel as the ‘best in Africa’. This achievement meant the coop was able to clear all of its loan from Technoserve within just one year instead of the estimated four.

With the increased income, the coop members have been able to invest in their local community too, building a bridge to improve access and safety alongside improvements to their own homes. Children are being funded through secondary school as a direct result of quality coffee production – it is an amazing example of the power coffee holds to dramatically better the lives of those producing it.

The coffee here is harvested when ripe and delivered to the Duromina washing station before being depulped, fermented and washed to be dried on raised beds ready for export.