Ethiopia Sidama Buncho station owned by Asefa Dukamo

Sidama Producing Region 
Located in the southern reaches of Ethiopia, Sidama is well-known for coffee. This
region is home to nearly 3.2 million people speaking the Sidama language with their own culture and traditions.
Additionally, this region is prized with fertile soils, high altitudes, and an ideal climate for high quality coffee.

Processing

For processing, the journey begins with only the ripest cherries being selectively handpicked. Once collected, the cherries are delivered to the mill to be sorted based on density and quality. This process is carried out by submerging the cherries in tanks and removing the floating cherries prior to drying. After sorting, the cherries are then de-pulped with a Panagos eco-friendly machine and transferred into fermentation tanks for 24 hours.

Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is rushed through tunnels and pushed with wooden tools to remove the mucilage. After the washing process is complete, the coffee is moved to traditional raised beds lined with mesh nets. The coffee rests here for roughly 12-15 days depending on temperature and humidity, rotation occurring every 30 minutes. Following this stage, the coffee is dried, and producers will generally travel via horseback or motorcycle 2-5kms to the dry mill. At the mill, the coffee is hulled viamachine.
The Washing Station maintains environmentally friendly practices, by carefully sanitizing the used water after processing in natural ways. Residue from pulping is also used as fertilizers for the farms to help promote soil health.

High up in the rich area of Shantawene are a collection of smallholder coffee producers within the Sidama region of Ethiopia.

Roughly 940 producers here, growing coffee on small plots of land, gather their cherries to be processed at the Buncho Washing Station run by our exporting partners, Daye Bensa.
The owner of the mill, Asefa Dukamo, was introduced to coffee at a young age as his parents were cultivating coffee and other garden crops. In his teens, he began to supply neighboring coffee washing stations with cherries purchased from nearby relatives and villagers in addition to his own family’s farm. He realized that there were not many washing stations nearby, and he had to travel great distances to deliverhis coffee.

Thus began the idea to construct his own washing station to reduce the travel time for coffee
producers in his region.

In 1997, he constructed a washing station in the Girja village, less than one mile from his parents’ house. The following year, another washing station was constructed in Eltama, 30 kms from Girja. Dukamo then moved to the Daye town in the Bensa district, setting up the mother washing station called Qonqana. Eventually, a dry mill was added to provide facilities for naturally processed coffees.

Producers working with the Buncho Station face a number of obstacles when growing coffee. This includes a lack of access to electricity, water, telecommunication, and road access. In addition, producers in the region suffer from reduced exposure to knowledge on the best coffee farming practices which can directly impact yield and quality.
Fortunately, Daye Bensa has been working to combat these challenges, initiating their “Back to the Community” projects. So far, projects have included the building of roads to connect villages, installingelectricity transformers and supplying producers with training in coffee plantation etiquette and better
agricultural practices. Daye Bensa has numerous goals outlined for the coming years including an improvement on agricultural training and the construction of a Health Facility for producers and families. The impact the Dukamo family has on the region is significant due to the many farms they have been able to reach – educating youths about coffee production and connecting producers to global coffee markets.

Country: Ethiopia

Region : Sidama,

Farm/ Station : Buncho Station

Varietals: JARC Selection 74158 ( heirloom)