Image 1 of 3
Image 2 of 3
Image 3 of 3
ETHIOPIA - SHANTAWENE GAFISE FROM DAYE BENSA IN SIDAMA
Ethiopia Shantawene is named after the village where the majority of the people who work on the farm, many of them women, are from. The farm is located at the heart of Shantawene Village within 10km from Daye town in the midst of natural forest and indigenous trees which are expected to be older than 200 years.
The farm is at a reachable distance to out-growers in Bombe, Shantawene, and Keramo villages. It is surrounded by rivers one of them separating Shantawene from Bombe which runs from the hills above Karamo. To maintain natural shades and the fertility of the soil with the consultancy of expertise from the ministry of agriculture various shade trees are planted on the farm.
Along with out-growers farms, it is verified as Organic, C.A.F.E PRACTICE, UTZ, and Rain Forest Alliances.
DAYE BENSA
In 2006, brothers Asefa and Mulugeta Dukamo founded Daye Bensa, a coffee grower and exporter in Ethiopia. Daye Bensa exports coffee from its farm, in the Shantawene Village, as well as from "out-growers" (or smallholders) in three villages: Shantawene, Karamo, and Bombe.
Daye Bensa stretches between 1,900 and 2,217 meters. The delivered cherry comes from out-growers farms higher up the mountain, between 2,000 and 2,400 meters.
Daye Bensa owns 15 washing stations across three districts, and they handle all the coffee they export. Its two farms, in Kaffa and Sidama, are Organic, UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, and C.A.F.E. practices certified.
Each year Daye Bensa hosts an Out-Growers Day. Nearly 1,000 farmers gather to celebrate their harvests and to receive second payments for their coffee cherry contributions. Daye Bensa additionally rewards the top three farmers from each of the three villages with certificates and cash prizes, recognizing them for consistently delivering high-quality cherries.
Going forward, Daye Bensa is hoping to work with more farmers, particularly encourage women farmers, and to work with Hawassa University, to help students perform research to improve coffee quality.