Organic Papua New Gwinea Korofeigu Coffee

 

The coffee comes from the Korofeigu Cooperative, which currently associates 97 small producers involved in the cultivation of organic coffee. Their farms cover 112 hectares and are located in the Bena Bena Valley between Goroka and Henganofi. The mountainous area and fertile clay soils are conducive to the cultivation of coffee and other fruit trees, which brings a natural shade for coffee trees.

 

In early 1945, with the war in New Guinea drawing to a close, the administration allocated four plots of land in the Korofeigu area for coffee cultivation. Thirteen teenagers from Korofeigu were selected and sent to a newly opened school where they were educated in coffee production. Over the next year, government officials roamed the Eastern Highlands selecting plots of land and encouraging farmers to plant coffee while continuing to train the youth of those areas. The first reaction of the indigenous people was indifference, it was considered a waste of time and not profitable for them to wait 3 years for the first harvest. Some plots were neglected, but none were removed, allowing coffee cultivation to begin in the area. Today, the cultivation of coffee in Korofeigu has become one of the most important sources of income in Papua New Guinea and one-third of the population lives on it.