18.6.08

The Tribal Cuppa' Coffee

Nobody in the whole wide world knew that a small group of tribals from a remote part of India could brew something so aromatic and tasty. And when they did with a brilliant display of enterprise and gusto, coffee drinkers across the globe now are drooling for cupfuls of what they are calling a divine drink. This is a classic success story of the adivasis of Aruku Valley in Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh. For long, they were trapped between the state government on the one hand and the Maoists on the other. In order to wean the tribals away from dependency on forest produce, the forest and tribal welfare departments lured the tribals in to taking up coffee cultivation some years ago. Goaded by the government, the tribals took to coffee in a big way.But by doing so, they incurred the wrath of the naxals, In 2006, the extremists blasted coffee pulp units at various tribal settlements in the region. An official jeep was blown up and godowns of a coffee research station at R V Nagar were set ablaze. But the tribals did not give up. Today, they have managed to produce what can be arguably called the world’s first high grade organic coffee. It is being cultivated without fertilisers by small and marginal tribal farmers like the Konda Doras, Nooka Doras and Bagathas.Exporters, who bought the beans at auctions in Vijayawada, took it to Europe, the US and some West Asian countries (the last mentioned is an achievement of sorts as coffee is believed to have originated from there). The organic farming has received the SKAL (Dutch) certification and the coffee itself has got the ‘best coffee from Araku Valley Region’ award by an international jury in the Final Cupping Competition, 2005, held in Seattle, USA.
The coffee produced by adivasis of Aruku Valley is now being sold in 840 outlets across the state, higher than any corporate chain in the country.But the difference is that all these outlets are in the rural areas. But now, the tribals and the state want to float a Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) and take on the big chains.“We are on the lookout for a brand name that conveys the distinct aroma, organic farming and the culturally rich diverse background of its producers,” said V Nagi Reddy, secretary, tribal welfare.Once they get the brand name, they will sell the product in the urban areas as well, he added. According to Reddy, organic coffee is now being cultivated on 95,000 acres of land in 13 mandals of Visakhapatnam.Coffee cultivation has also transformed the tribals from labourers to land owners. From Rs 5,000 a tribal household used to earn annually when dependent on forest produce and agriculture, they are earning Rs 20,000 now from coffee and other crops like pepper.

No comments: