Coffee School for Farming Families

KOMPAS/ELSA EMIRIA LEBA

Uji Sapitu (left) and Tejo Pramono

The sound of a light breeze and the gentle flow of the Ciapus River is clearly heard from Rumah Kopi Ranin in Cikarawang village, Bogor, West Java. Starting with the modest coffee house, Tejo Pramono, 48, and Uji Sapitu, 49, have opened an informal coffee school to broaden the horizons of farming families throughout Indonesia.

For generations, Indonesian farmers have sold coffee to large companies without heeding its quality because the price is already fixed. The opportunity for farmers to sell coffee for the premium market has finally opened along with the recent emergence of coffee shops. However, not all farmers are capable of aiming at the market of fine coffee because of minimal knowledge about flavor and quality.