gem forest coffee

Manipruek Specialty Coffee

1)   Introduction

a)      The Prai of Manipruek 3 are located on land that is at too high of elevation to grow rice or cash crops that they are familiar with.

b)      They are limited to growing their food rice 3 hour hike away, and finding income by working for Hmong people, which is difficult, and not consistently available.

 

 

 

2)   Objective

a)      I am trying to help the Prai people find a way to make a living in the area where they are currently located.

b)      The project will hopefully enable the Prai people to spend more time at home, with their family, get better education, and improve their self perception as a unique and valuable culture.

c)      The project will be sustainable, diverse/holistic, and be suitable for their environment.

 

 

3)   Methodology :

a)      The main crop we are investigating is coffee, and as coffee is developed we will incorporate other crops and animals in with the coffee to diversify the livelihood. How I have prioritized decisions on variety/cultivar, farming style, and processing methods are Quality, Sustainability, and quality.

b)      Variety determination

i)        There are hundreds of different varieties of coffee in the world. About 2 or 3 varieties must be chosen that exhibit the following properties:

ii)      Superior flavor that can compete in the specialty coffee market

iii)    Sufficient resistance to coffee rust, dieback, frost, drought, humidity etc.

iv)    At least 1.5 and no more than 3 kilos of fruit per tree per year.

  

 

 

c)      Farming style:

i)        Spacing: Wide varieties of coffee are spaced 2mx2m, and conical varieties are spaced 1.5mx2m.

ii)      Fertilization: The soil analysis revealed a very high ph, and low phosphorus level in all the surrounding soil. Planting holes are consistently lined with .5K rock phosphate, and .5 kg dolomite, as well as 1kg of goat or sheep manure.

(1)   Control plot of Catimor was divided into 3 sections to test different regular fertilization programs.

(a)   Commercially produced Organic fertilization

(b)   regular chemical fertilization

(c)    local organic fertilizer and Urea

(2)   After 3 years of the program, the different plots will at full maturity, and will be observed in the following years and evaluated for quality of the coffee, plant health, and production.

iii)    Layout: All land is sloped between 5 and 40 degrees with most of it being in the 20-30 degree range. Therefore, rows are drawn on contour lines, and ground cover and hedgerows are probably necessary. To see the effect of hedgerows and ground cover, I have different plots with

(1)   open sun, and arachis pintoi groundcover

(2)   open sun, and natural growth groundcover, with hedge rows of indigofera.

(3)   60% shade, and natural leaf fall ground cover.

iv)    Pruning: Different varieties naturally require different pruning systems. The purpose of pruning is to keep the tree size manageable, limit fruit production, and keep the coffee tree vigorous. Not much experimentation will be done with pruning, but more pruning will be used on dense type trees, and less pruning on open type trees.

v)      Harvesting: coffee fruit will be harvested during the months of December – February on 2-3 week intervals. Each plot and division will be kept separate for taste quality, size, and quantity evaluation.

d)      Processing: coffee shall be processed immediately and in a consistent manner, so results can be compared accurately. Semi-wet, also called pulped natural, process will be used in large part as that will most likely be the way the coffee will be processed for market. As production increases, I will experiment with wet and dry processing on a limited basis.

e)      Training: The people of Manipruek3 will learn how to grow coffee by observation, involvement, by training sessions, and by the distribution of a written manual.

i)        Observation: The test fields are all in close proximity of the village and everyone can see the ongoing growth, and things like field layout, mulching, and how a healthy coffee field should look.

ii)      Involvement: Villagers are usually hired to help complete each task with the intent of giving them hands-on experience with the different processes.  This is also a time to teach them more in-depth about why things are done the way they are done.

iii)    Formal training: As the time comes for more involvement, public workshops will be used to give everyone basic knowledge about each step that they are about to do. e.g. give a soil preparation workshop in May, a pruning workshop in September, and a harvesting workshop in November etc.

iv)    Written manual: I am in the process of writing a coffee growing handbook in the Prai language. All those who can read will be able to use it for reference and carry on while unsupervised.

f)       Quality: So far, only Catimor has been tested for quality. The results were satisfactory, but not outstanding. The Catimor is the control group. It is what is already commonly grown in Thailand so, in the following years we shall see how the other varieties and cultivars compare with the Catimor grown in the same environment.

 

h)      Animal Integration: Sheep and goats appeared to be the best and most marketable option for directly integrating with coffee growing.  The animals would chiefly benefit the coffee by providing fertilizer for the coffee as well as potentially grazing the grass and weeds from between the coffee.

4)
Results:

a)      As of May 2009 I have discovered the following:

b)      Variety determination: I have found 5 potentially good varieties out of the 18 I have tried. Not all of these have produced yet, so I will be able to perform final flavor analysis in 2013. The 5 that seem good are:

i)        Gesha: possibly too prone to insect and scale, but good flavor. High maintenance.

ii)      Typica: again good flavor, but both test fields seemed not resistant to strong winds, and fell easily. Must be grown with wind breaks.

iii)    Lao Java: very good insect, rust resistance, and exceptional flavor. Pending further observation.

iv)    SJ133: Very high resistance, slightly less flavorful.

v)      Bourbon: high frost restistance and hardy. Too young to observe any potential faults.

c)      Farming style:

i)        Spacing: current spacing tends to be appropriate.

ii)      Fertilization: Control plot of Catimor was divided into 3 sections to test different regular fertilization programs. After 1 year, they all appear the same.

iii)    Layout:

(1)   open sun, and arachis pintoi groundcover looks very nice and green.

(2)   open sun, and natural growth groundcover, with hedge rows of indigofera. Shows nitrogen deficiency easily and soil still suffers some erosion. This style requires much more weed control.

(3)   60% shade, and natural leaf fall ground cover. Very low maintenance, but still requires nitrogen inputs.

iv)    Harvesting: in 2009 20 Kilograms of coffee cherry was harvested from the Catimor control group plot.

v)      Processing: pulped natural processing proved to take longer and require more sunlight. If  this process is used for large quantities, drying would need to take place in the valley at a hotter dryer location.

d)      Animal integration: After 12 months of raising sheep and goats, it appears that sheep are more suited to the climate of Manipruek 3, and cause significantly less damage to the coffee plants. Both produce good fertilizer, but the sheep are more thorough grazers and reduced the need for mowing by 50%.

5)               Plan of action:

It should take about 8 more years before this project becomes profitable, and another 4 years until it becomes fully sustainable. We can project the future with only limited certainty, but with each year, the vision and process for the following year become slightly clearer. Based on the current state of things, this is how I imagine this project playing out to completion.

a)      2009 -2010

i)        Cultivar development: The test plots of each different strain must be maintained and carefully observed and documented. About 400 trees of 8 new varieties are to be planted in June of 2009.

ii)      Equipment: A coffee pulper will be purchased and set up at Manipruek3 by November 2009, and a huller will be purchased by March 2010.

iii)    Maintenance: Existing test plots must continue to maintained.

iv)    Intercropping: Additional income generating crops will be tried out in the test plots.

(1)   In 2009  wild peach trees are to be planted, and in 2010, plum, cherry, and good peach will be grafted onto the wild peach root stock.

(2)   Buckwheat, oats, and wheat will be tried out to make use of the bare land strips between rows of young coffee trees.

(3)   taro, ginger, and many other food crops will also be tried so as to model a coffee field being a food source as well as an income source.

v)      Training Prai growers: In 2009, each family in Manipruek3 will have about 50 coffee seedlings to plant and gain experience with. I will give training at each stage and process. The purpose is for them to have a low-investment hands-on training tool that will eventually become part of their own farm.

vi)    Training Prai Nursers: Already some Prai have been trained in germinating, and caring for coffee seedlings. This training will continue, and these Prai who live at low elevation, outside the ideal coffee growing area (but ideal for germinating and growing seedlings) will have income raising and selling seedlings to the Prai in the growing region.

b)      2011-18

i)        Continue developing coffee cultivars, and testing each variety for flavor and hardiness.

ii)      Develop domestic and international markets. Domestic markets to buy coffee short term until production levels are high enough for container shipping to international buyers.

iii)    Construct coffee processing facility that is equipped with a research/cupping room, office, and hulling and sample roasting equipment.

iv)    Acquire land and build a warehouse near the main highway for more controlled storage and convenient shipping of green coffee to port.

c)      2018-22:

i)        By 2018, Production should be high enough for cost effective shipping to international buyers. By this time also the Prai of Manipruek 3 Should be able to grow coffee and navigate thru most problems without much help.

ii)      By 2018 other villages might also begin to grow specialty coffee, or switch from commercial to specialty coffee. I plan to be available until 2022 to supervise the Prai of Manipruek3 as they host trainings for coffee growers in other villages.

6)
Conclusion:

This is indeed a long term project. However, most of us would agree that the best things take the most time. This project I am hoping will greatly help the Prai people make a decent living in their present locale as well as improve their self image and cultural pride. For too long, they have seen themselves as an inferior people who must constantly rely on government help and be servants to the Thai or Hmong people. Each step of this project is formulated to treat them not as beneficiaries, but as capable people who are competent to learn, teach, and compete with the best in the world.