Mrs Gemedech’s land in the famed Idedo region of Yirghacheffe (part of Ethiopia’s southern coffee growing region) is a garden farm where coffee is grown under a shade mixed with other fruits and food staples in a regenerative manner. Fallen leaves and coffee pulp hauled from local mills are the main source of compost. Enset trees (false Banana) across the farm collect water from the rainy season inside their trunks and release it to the ground during the dry season. This helps the soils retain moisture all year round. According to Mrs. Gemedech, she does not use inorganic fertilizers or pesticides, and, since she processes her harvest using the natural/sundried process, her environmental waste and impact are is minimal.

Mrs. Gemedech Fulasa was born not too far from where she currently lives, and she is the only child to her parents. She inherited her 4.5 hectare coffee farm when her father passed away in 2011. In the Gedeo culture, land inheritance usually goes to the male children. However, being the only child, she has taken this opportunity to inherit the land and shine as one of few female coffee farmers and one of the highest quality coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe. Before inheriting the coffee farm, she and her husband supported their family of four children through the Kocho trade. Kocho is a local staple source of carbohydrates that is made from the trunk of a false banana tree, called Enset – a crop that now allows both additional income and improved soil moisture. obtaining organic certification, but it was not until 2020 that they were able to achieve significant premiums for exporting specialty. This was the year they partnered with the cupping team at Ensembles de Café, who worked with this group to separate out their very best and set the model for years to come.

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