Fighting for Ngada Coffee
Marselina is known as NTT’s only coffee quality tester, or Q Grader.
Born and raised in a remote village amid lush Arabica coffee plants in Bajawa, Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Marselina Walu, 46, has developed deep affection for her organic crop. Marselina’s multiple designations as a coffee farmer, owner of the Berdikari processing facility and the chair of a woman farmers group have established her as the first coffee Q Grader in NTT. Her perseverance in cultivating and developing coffee has built up international businesses’ confidence in her coffee quality testing skills.
Marselina Walu
When she was contacted in Bajawa on Friday (9/7/2021), Marselina said she wanted to change the mindset of women in Radabata village, Golewa district, Ngada regency and in East Nusa Tenggara as a whole so they would become independent, relying on their own strengths and capacities. Marselina has a 50-acre coffee plantation in Radabata that she inherited from her parents, which she expanded to 100 acres in 2001. To secure adequate income from her crop, plants like tubers had to be removed and replaced with organic Arabica coffee, which she later intercropped with other plants.