ETHIOPIA - SHAKISO [ESPRESSO]

The Kayon Mountain farm covers 500 hectares, with about 300 dedicated to coffee. Since 2012, Ismael Hassen Aredo and his family have owned and managed it in the Guji zone, Shakiso district (Oromia, Ethiopia), 510 km south of Addis Ababa, between the villages of Taro and Sewana.

It has 25 permanent employees and up to 300 seasonal workers. It offers free transport and financial support to build schools and administrative buildings for the community. To compete with a nearby mining town for seasonal labor, it pays higher wages and encourages pickers to return each year.

The farm has its own nursery and protects the coffee trees with acacia and other native trees, which it also uses to make compost. It produces both washed and natural coffees. For the latter, the cherries are selected and cleaned on the day of harvest; they are then dried on raised beds, turning them frequently for 8–25 days, depending on the weather.