NGO opens storage building for remote coffee growers

COFFEE growers in Maimafu, in the Crater Mountains of Lufa, Eastern Highlands, now have a storage house for their produce.
Growers will store their parchment coffee bags there to be flown to Goroka.
The new permanent facility was built by the Research Conservation Foundation in Goroka, a non-government organisation operating as a partner to the Coffee Industry Corporation’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (CIC-PPAP).
The lead partner is implementing coffee rehabilitation activities with 611 growers in Maimafu, Ubaigubi and Mengino villages in the Crater Mountains.
Close to 600 growers and their families gathered at the Maimafu airstrip on Oct 30 to witness the opening of the first building by a team led by project manager Potaisa Hombunaka.
Hombunaka said the storage facility was for all coffee growers, including those taking part in coffee rehabilitation to supply sufficient quantity of quality coffee to buyers, exporters and processors.
He also challenged the growers and their lead partner to install a mini huller to reduce waste from parchment coffee so green bean coffee only can be airlifted to Goroka.
“I know is very expensive to fly coffee bags to Goroka,” Hombunaka
“A mini huller will help you to cut down on freight cost and I leave you with this challenge.
“Also, the set-up of a storage house here will attract buyers to buy your coffee at a central location.”
Crater Mountain is accessible only by helicopter and one-engine planes from Missionary Aviation Fellowship and Adventist Aviation Services. “We introduce these changes because there is no use telling growers to improve their gardens without attention to processing the coffee to good quality coffee to sell as better price,” Hombunaka said.
is in producing good quality coffee,” Hombunaka said.