The Small Farmer Project is the result of an effort to support Ethiopian producers with a marketplace for farm-traceable coffees. In 2020, we purchased our first coffees from a handful of these producers located in Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, and Guji. This project is made possible in conjunction with Lulo Coffees, an Ethiopian export and coffee development company dedicated to connecting small producers with buyers. Samples are sent out to potential buyers, price is negotiated on the farmers’ behalf, and contracts are only accepted when the producer agrees on a sales price and their name is on the contract for each coffee they sell. 

“Our goals with this project would be to help garner and develop long-term relationships between the producers we are already working with and coffee roasting companies that share in the values of transparency, traceability, and relationship that this program represents,” says Claudia, green-coffee buyer for Cafe Imports.

Natural coffees are typically delivered the day they are harvested, and are first sorted for ripeness and quality before being rinsed clean of dirt. Then they are spread on raised drying beds or tables, where they will be rotated constantly throughout the course of drying. Drying can take an average of 8–25 days, depending on the weather.