Takele Mammo Denbi Konga

This coffee from Takele Mammo Denbi, at 47 years old, is a brand-new participant in the Single Farmer Lots Program this year but has yet to be familiar with the direct export process. Takele is currently stepping down after many years as the Managing Director of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, of which his farm has been a member. Takele has worked closely with the program, helping it to succeed, but avoiding conflict of interest excluded his coffee from the program. Takele cultivated this single farmer lot on his 8-hectare farm in the Konga district, located in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow plateau section dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe.”

The Konga cooperative is well-known for its quality, and it’s a distinct pleasure having individual farmers from this perennially impressive community to celebrate, not to mention one as dedicated to farmer opportunity as Takele.

The Single Farmer Lots Program

The Single Farmer Lots Program initiative is to remove single farmer lots from the more giant cooperative blends sold through the ECX, taking custody of these precious coffees through a direct sale. The program is a unique micro-channel of almost unprecedented specificity in coffee supply from Ethiopia. Farmers with the drive and means to sell directly are supported, and, in turn, buyers of Ethiopian coffee have access to a portfolio of single-farm lots, un-diluted by the typical cooperative- and exporter-level consolidations.

Annual farm visits and regular communication with farmers through representatives in Ethiopia have ensured that farmers and washing stations follow strict farm management and post-harvest protocols. The results have been increasing cup quality and higher returns for the individual producers that have come to count on excellent coffee year after year.