The Transformation Of Coffee Farmers?At a Thai cafe, I had a wonderful time. Coffee trends are always changing, and coffee products are diversifying as well. This produces new dynamics, allowing the coffee to become more appealing to young people. Coffee is more than a caffeinated beverage consumed during the day for this group of clients. And coffee is the factor that brings people together in today’s coffee community. The coffee community, on the other hand, is growing throughout the supply chain, and every step from planting to processing contributes to the aroma in your cup. Each step necessitates the cooperation of a large number of people, but the most important step in the process is coffee cultivation. Coffee has been farmed for generations, and today’s producers are well-versed in the process.The generational divide is expanding as the next generation must choose between going to the city or following in their parents’ footsteps. This issue of CTI delves into the lives of young coffee producers in Thailand, giving you their viewpoint and feelings on being part of a new generation of coffee farmers.
WATCHARAPHONG KRATHOMROMPRAI
Punpun (Watcharaphong Krathomromprai) is the creator of the Klohaki Coffee Estate and a member of the Paka-kyaw hill tribe. His coffee company is only two years old, yet he spent more than 20 years in Bangkok working in numerous occupations. He got the opportunity to sip the greatest coffee, interact with cafe owners and bartenders, and occasionally debate coffee exports with friends during his time in the city. foreign. When he visited Vietnam, he discovered coffee shops in every neighbourhood. He always talks about how he wants to start his own coffee company with his friends. Punpun quickly becomes dissatisfied with the metropolis, and boyhood memories of his parents’ coffee farm tempt him to return. At the age of 38, he said farewell to Bangkok and dedicated himself to coffee. Fortunately,he had a friend in Chiangmai who was interested in starting a roaster and was ready to buy green coffee beans from him; this is where his coffee odyssey really began.
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF
Previously, the Punpun family farm employed wet pre-processing for all of its coffee, but as soon as he started his profession, he converted to honey and natural. His family was first apprehensive that the coffee would not be sold due to a lack of precedence in the area. Punpun, on the other hand, has done things his way, and every procedure he employs has been thoroughly investigated and vetted by coffee experts. He hasn’t totally abandoned the washing method, and he still employs it on coffee from other farms in the area. “I like coffee and want to create a good cup for myself.” When it comes to business, though, you must conduct thorough research and maintain the desire to make yourself a nice cup of coffee, because everyone wants a good cup of coffee.”
KLOHAKI COFFEE ESTATE IS AN EXCITING NEW OPTION FOR COFFEE ADDICTS
Punpun and the local cooperative hope to enhance production in the next 2-3 years, despite the fact that present production is still fairly low. “I’m working to transition our members to specialty coffee, and I’m always educating them how to make wonderful coffee utilizing the farm and processing processes as a new paradigm.” Punpun’s Klohaki Coffee Estate will continue to produce new products employing diverse techniques in the hopes of being the first choice for coffee aficionados. Pristine land “I encourage young people to venture out and gain vital experience in a variety of settings. Spend 4-5 years learning new skills, and if you don’t like what you see, you can always go back and apply what you’ve learned to help grow your home country.
“We may apply our expertise in a variety of ways,” Punpun explains. After staying in the city for a while, he gathered 7 members of a community company who chose to return home and start growing coffee. “I gathered them all together and told them they didn’t need to look for job any longer.” We can help the coffee industry thrive and become a role model for the next generation if we work together. This is a fantastic place to start for new farmers. We couldn’t comprehend how a mountain might become a goldmine when we were young, but now that we’re older, we can see how every square inch of property can generate revenue. We can coexist with the forest in such a way that the forest generates finished goods in exchange for our maintenance of the forest.”
LIVE YOUR LIFE IN THE SAME WAY EVERYONE ELSE DOES
Coffee cultivation, like any other type of farming, may be difficult for many individuals. Punpun is no exception, but the joy he derives from contributing to his forefathers’ history is well worth the effort. “Happiness is a personal experience. Working with nature and coffee makes me very happy, and that is a happiness that cannot be found in the city.” If you want to visit Punpun’s coffee farm, you’re in luck because he recently established a stay farm where you can learn about coffee farming, harvest fruit, and discuss coffee ideas with Punpun.
CHOMSANOOK KITCHAYANAN
Namura Coffee was founded by Kitchayanan Chomsanook (Namura is Paka-kyaw which means fragrant). When he originally established his coffee farm in Dulapur village in Mae Hong Son, he was known as Dang Dulapur. Dang worked in construction, textiles, communication equipment, and even as an office worker before deciding to become a coffee grower. His last employment before becoming a coffee roaster was as a volunteer organic agricultural educator, which lead him to discover what he truly enjoyed. Dang is a big fan of organic farming and can’t live without his morning cup of coffee. With his stories, he met Rop Prarop, a coffee business veteran and proprietor of Inthanon Coffee, who pushed Dang to seriously seek a career in the field. “If you want to produce coffee, you have to work hard to acquire what you want,” Rop once told him. So,when Dang was 35 years old, he went to his best friend’s coffeehouse and decided to team up with him in Dulapur village.
DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY
Dulapur village used to only produce 100-200 kg of coffee each year, but thanks to Dang’s commitment to improving his coffee farm, the coffee tree has earned more respect, and he feels he is doing well. proceed in the correct direction “People are beginning to notice the benefits of coffee cultivation. Every year, prices rise, and we pay them more because we know their production expenses are very high. Many people grow coffee with care, and we process it with care as well. People will gladly pay for good coffee if it is good. Coffee drinkers get high-quality cups, while farmers are paid. This makes everyone happy.” Other villages have recently learned about the coffee price Dulapur village receives. Dang was asked to teach in nearly a dozen villages in the provinces of Mae Hong Son and Tak. He mostly worked with the Paka-kyaw people,teaching them how to cultivate coffee properly. If he faces a challenging situation, he will seek assistance from members of the coffee community as well as Patchanee Suwanwisolkit, a lecturer and scientist at Chiangmai University’s Faculty of Agriculture.
CHALLENGE
Traffic is the most significant difficulty for coffee farmers in Mae Hong Son. Each hamlet is hundreds of kilometers away, making it difficult to teach residents new and unusual processes. “Those who are ready to learn, on the other hand, can be of enormous assistance since they can set an example.” These examples demonstrate the benefits of excellent coffee care, and others can use these techniques on their own farms. This improves the quality and quantity of Mae Hong Son coffee produced.”
Another issue is that of recognition. Mae Hong Son coffee is not well-known, and many people are unaware that it is farmed here. Dang is required to go around and sample his coffee. Fortunately, Rop connected him with coffee experts in Thailand, who provided valuable comments on the coffee, allowing the project to move forward. Now, Dang’s annual difficulty is that supply does not keep up with demand. “It’s pointless to have high-quality products if there aren’t enough to sell.” Because we can’t extend the market, our key goal this year is to increase production. In August, we will conduct a coffee festival in Mae Hong Son to assist people to recognize Mae Hong Son coffee. Visitors will be able to sample the coffee grown on the farm and speak with the growers personally.”
BRING THE KIDS BACK HOME
Dang’s other objective, in addition to providing high-quality coffee, is to reunite young people with their families. During the harvest season, farmers would bring their children home, and the children would often earn more than they would if they worked in the city. Because most of the village’s young people have left to work in the city, Paka-cooperatives kyaw’s are ageing. “We believe that bringing our young people back home is a noble mission, and coffee is a good tool for that.” Coffee is ideal for our way of life because it fits our terrain while also helping to preserve the forest.” Princess Sirindhorn’s ‘Reforestation’ projects allow villagers to benefit from the land without hurting the forest. This corresponds to Dang’s farming technique of never cutting down a large tree because the coffee tree requires shade. “We will charge a greater premium for superior quality if we take good care of the coffee.” It will not be the cheapest option.”
We attempt to give the best price possible since we want the farmers to have a happy life. No one will want to grow coffee if we don’t attempt, and we will never be able to raise production. It’s critical to assist the locals in growing high-quality coffee. Everyone is now welcome to come in and share their experiences in order to improve the quality of Mae Hong Son coffee. Young people are returning in greater numbers. The Paka-kyaw people, who cycle between rice and coffee seasons, still eat rice. They’ll labor with the coffee plants after the rice is harvested, and vice versa. That’s why coffee fits perfectly with the way of life here.
SAE-YANG CHARTREE
In Khun Chang Kien, Chartree Sae-Yang is a young Hmong coffee farmer. Since he was 18 years old, he has been job hopping in Chiangmai city for the past 8 years. He understood at one time that if he continued to follow others, he would not be successful, and that he should return home to explore new options. There are many things awaiting him at home, but he considers coffee to be his most valued asset. Khun Chang Kien is Thailand’s first coffee origin to establish a research center, and it reflects the wide range of coffee varietals grown there. “We need to figure out what your bottom line is in your life.” I decided to return to my hometown and become a coffee farmer when I was 26 years old, and in 2017 Khun Chang Kien coffee was awarded third place by the Specialty Coffee Association of Thailand (SCATH),and our wet pre-heating technology was just awarded fifth place in the same competition. This demonstrates that we are on the right track.” Chartree prefers wet wash prep over the more rigorous dry and semi-wet procedures because “the process is simpler and easier to transfer knowledge, unlike the more demanding dry and semi-wet methods.”
BEGIN AT NUMBER 0
He had no idea what he was doing when he first decided to prepare coffee at home. His first cup of coffee was a drip, which he liked, but he had no idea what espresso, cappuccino, or latte were or how to make them. Then he bought a tiny espresso machine and watched online videos to learn how to use it. He had coffee, but he didn’t know how to utilize it effectively, so he took a step back to think about it and realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere because he didn’t have it. communication. That’s when he made the decision to start all over. Chartee had no notion what specialty coffee was or how it was manufactured the first time he heard the term. However, he realized he couldn’t compete in terms of quantity or land area with the others, so specialty coffee was the appropriate solution.Because the terrain cannot be harvested by machines, labor is an important aspect of coffee cultivation in the mountains. Furthermore, speciality coffee necessitates meticulous attention in every step of production, from batch management to processing to brewing and consumption. As his knowledge of coffee grew, he enrolled in coffee classes and met a variety of Chiangmai bartenders who were ready to share their stories.
“Mr. Tien (Wimonlack Blom-Boonvises), former OneCert organic certification manager, recommended us to participate his coffee SCATH contest to seek comments on how to enhance coffee,” says the former OneCert organic certification manager. “The competition allows people to learn about coffee from Khun Chang Kien while also exposing the shortcomings in the beverage. SCATH invited the top ten farmers to provide feedback on their coffee as well as training. SCATH has made each grower aware of the drawbacks of their coffee. We are coffee growers, and our coffee is leading the industry to new heights, but in order to be a great producer, we must fully comprehend our product. They also taught us pruning strategies as well as how to separate and discern excellent from undesirable attributes.” Chartee’s first alteration,based on his newfound understanding, was the manner of coffee harvesting. Instead of carelessly plucking cherries without judging the degree of maturity on a single branch, they now carefully select ripe cherries. The development has spread to the nearby coffee estates, which are seeing steady progress. Buyers are also willing to pay a greater price because the percentage of ripe coffee is significantly higher than it was previously. The development has spread to the nearby coffee estates, which are seeing steady progress. Buyers are also willing to pay a greater price because the percentage of ripe coffee is significantly higher than it was previously. The development has spread to the nearby coffee estates, which are seeing steady progress.Buyers are also willing to pay a greater price because the percentage of ripe coffee is significantly higher than it was previously.
GENERATE A MODEL
Chartree’s success in applying modern information to grow coffee and raise awareness of Khun Chang Kien coffee has inspired others in their 30s, the same age group as Chartree, to consider pursuing a career in the coffee industry in their country. “Many individuals begin to wonder why they would disregard such a valuable item at home. People are going home in greater numbers, but they still have little knowledge of coffee.” People used to grow coffee the same way their forefathers did without any modernization, and they couldn’t get enough to eat. As a result, they change employment or grow other plants in place of coffee trees. Teenagers will travel to large cities to further their education in the hopes of becoming public servants or office professionals with great pay. “You will constantly be behind others if you just follow the trend mindlessly.” On the other hand, it would be better if we all got together, shared our knowledge, and assisted each other in growing our own coffee at home. “This is our coffee from Khun Chang Kien, where the first coffee research facility was built,” we can proudly claim. “They now perceive a potential to have a sustainable career at home, where the first coffee research center was created, as opposed to believing they had to leave their nation for a better future.” “From the belief that they had to leave their homeland for a better future, they now see an opportunity to have a sustainable career at home.” “From the belief that they had to leave their homeland for a better future,they now see an opportunity to have a sustainable career at home. where the first coffee research center was established.”
MORE BENEFITS THAN COFFEE
Chartree is in the process of turning his farm to organic farming, and he is presently selecting types that complement the land’s qualities. If you visit Khun Chang Kien, you will notice that several coffee kinds are produced around the area. This is a delicate situation that must be handled with caution. Coffee processing must also be improved on a regular basis. “Coffee beans aren’t the only benefit you get from growing coffee,” explains Chartee, if you want to be a member of a community of coffee growers. Cocoa, lychee, avocado, and persimmon are examples of shade plants that can generate income. These fruits may provide income all year, and it is critical for every farmer to work with the forest to create a sustainable ecology.”