Sumatra

The  Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik PPKGO

 “Thanks to Fair Trade, one of my children is now in medical school and the other is in midwifery school.”

Mohammed Salim, PPKGO member

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PPKGO –Gayo Organic Coffee Farmer's Association The  Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik, or PPKGO, is located near Takengon in the Gayo Highlands region of AcehProvince, Sumatra, Indonesia. The cooperative has over 1,600 members of which 20% are women and spans 32 communities. This region is renowned as the largest producer of Arabica coffee in Southeast Asia, but also as the site of the seemingly ceaseless civil war between Acehnese separatists and the Indonesian military. 

In 1997, ForesTrade initiated the “Sustainable Sumatra Coffee Project”, a collaborative project in partnership with local coffee producers, the Gayo Organic Coffee Farmers Association (PPKGO) and C.V. Trimaju, a local processor/exporter. Working in close partnership with the PPKGO and Trimaju, ForesTrade serves as a processor, importer, pre-financer and logistics coordinator. They also provide the necessary technical assistance and training and support for implementing and monitoring organic and Fair Trade programs.

Coop members live in an environmentally sensitive region in and around the buffer zone to GunungLeuserNational Park, an area that contains critical watersheds and sanctuaries for endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger. Producers are dedicated to producing high-quality 100% organic and shade grown coffee while ensuring their production practices conserve resources and preserve the biologically diverse ecosystem in which they live.

Significant revenues earned from selling to the Fair Trade and organic markets has allowed PPKGO to contribute to a wide variety of programs, contributing to the advancement of PPKGO’s production, processing and quality, as well as local community development. These investments include:

Local Community Development:

· Constructed potable water system benefiting more than 1,500 people in three communities.

· Assisted farmers in building and repairing 34 homes.

· Established a credit union to extend small loans to families in the cooperative.

· Provided supplemental financing for the construction of three local schools

· Constructed new roads and helped repair/upgrade existing ones.

· Constructed soccer (football) fields for local communities.

· Provide ongoing support for local orphans and widows.

· 150 PPKGO members have participated in the Hajj, a life-long goal for Muslims.

Investment:

· Rehabilitation of old farms and purchase of new ones.

· Development of community nurseries to provide improved and grafted coffee and shade tree seedlings. · Initiation of a mechanical weed cutter program.

· Establishment of 2 cupping labs one at PPKGO’s headquarters in Takengon and the other at the export processing plant in Medan.

· Purchase of five wet mills, moisture meters, and 25 vehicles for coffee transport in five communities.

· Promotion of income diversification projects for farmers to grow additional cash crops, such as vanilla, potatoes, and bananas.

· Maintenance of coffee seedling nurseries and distribution of seedlings to rehabilitate farms.

About the Coop

Members - +1,600 growers in 32 communities

Origin: Takengon, Central Aceh, Sumatra - Indonesia

Coop’s Ethnic Composition: Gayo (50%), Javanese (30%),  Acehnese (15%), Padang (3%) and Batak (2%)

% of Women Members: 20% women

About the Coffee

Coffee Varieties: Typica, Catimor, Caturra, Bergendal, Sidikalang

Altitudes Coffee is Grown: 1,100m - 1,500m

Coffee Characteristics: Green, semi-washed, approximately  15-16 (size)

Harvest Season: Oct - June

Export Season: Nov-Sept