ABOUT THE FARMERS
Nepal Coffee company
Nepal Coffee Company is a pioneer in the coffee history of Nepal. They began in 1983 as the country’s first coffee company, and first coffee processors. The mission being to bring to the world the highest quality coffee beans grown at the optimum altitude and climate, in the mid hills of the Himalayan range.
But at a time when there were hardly any coffee farmers in Nepal, this was no easy task. Nepal Coffee Company took upon the challenge to educate farmers in the rural mid-hills about the benefits of cultivating coffee in addition to staples, such as rice and corn. They also introduced the concept of total quality management of coffee, which consists of collecting red cherries from farmers, processing, roasting, as well as packaging.
Nepal Coffee Company purchases organic Arabica cherry coffee that is cultivated by small farmers on the slopes of the mid-hills of Nepal. The coffee trees grow between 1000 meters and 1600 meters above sea level and therefore, fall outside of the coffee growing belt of the Earth.
The chilly autumns of the mid-hills, in combination with its unique soil and biodiversity allow the coffee cherries to nurture in an environment that gives them their distinct aroma and flavor. Coffee grown within Nepal is harvested between the months of December and March.
The farmers do not use any pesticides and all of the coffee is 100% organic, certified by the USDA. They also provide technical support to the farmers and help them test the soil nutrients and water quality, and provide expert advice to support healthy plants.
Our coffee is planted under the shades of fruit trees and spices, which not only gives higher quality beans, but also requires less external inputs as compared to unshaded cultivation practices. Shaded farming of multiple crops, or intercropping, keeps the soil healthy, and retains moisture, which helps preserve biodiversity. Mulching and manuring of coffee trees are done with locally available plant materials and by-products of livestock. Farmers do not have to purchase these inputs.
We guarantee our farmers that we will buy any amount of coffee that they have grown during the year, however large or small the size may be. We have built long lasting relationship with farmers who bring us 20 kilos of coffee from the few coffee plants that they have outside their house, as well as with farmers who have been consistently bringing in few tons every year.
Some of the farmers travel great distances from their villages to bring us the 20 kilos of coffee and we make an extra effort not to return these farmers empty handed. We offer them the right training materials and educate them on basic things like when to pick the coffee, how long to dry the coffee, how long to ferment the coffee, how to store the coffee and more.
They take great pride in empowering local Nepali women, and are humbled to provide employment to Nepali sisters at the processing facility. We have several sisters who have been working with us for the last 25 years and are very proud to call them our partners here at Nepal Coffee Company. We can also proudly state that all of our coffee beans are handpicked by our sisters in order to ensure that only the highest quality beans make it to your cup.
Our locally grown organic coffee beans in combination with our focus on total quality management and superior bean grading technology, makes us the leading producers of the best tasting coffee in Nepal. And producing high quality coffee is not only good for the farmers who sell it, but also for you, the coffee lover.