In Ethiopia, wild coffee thrives under dense forest canopies. Since 2018, TechnoServe has been working with Partnerships for Forests to support the farmers who grow this coffee, and the diverse habitats they rely on for their livelihoods.
In part one of our weeklong series, we highlight the ways that training and market connections have created lasting income improvements for small coffee farmers around the world.
Over 15 million Ethiopians rely on coffee for their livelihoods. This is one of their stories.
"Ask a TechnoServe Expert" is a new series where our staff members, who work on a range of important global development issues, answer your questions. In this edition, Ethiopia Country Director Mefthe Tadesse answered your questions on climate resilience.
As greater traceability and ever-growing consumer interest in coffee origins increase the incentives for sustainable production, more opportunities to align profits and sustainability will emerge. If we are innovative and approach problems from a business perspective, we can help the supply chain grow even greener.
Partnerships for Forests and TechnoServe are working together to protect Ethiopia's ecologically unique and biodiverse habitats while increasing the livelihoods of forest coffee farmers.
With no maize mill available to them, women in a rural Ethiopian community opened their own mill and began providing a vital time-saving service to community members, freeing them up to participate in local economic activities.
In Ethiopia, TechnoServe is working with Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality Program to build a coffee sector that is sustainable and prosperous for local farmers and ecosystems.
In the Majang Forest of Ethiopia, TechnoServe is working to create sustainable and prosperous forest-based economies by helping women to reduce time spent in drudgery, launch income-generating activities, and enter competitive markets for non-timber forest products.
In Ethiopia, 75 percent of the work in the coffee value chain is carried out by women, whereas only 43 percent of the income is earned by those same women. Kebebushe is one of 79 agronomists working with Nespresso to support more than 40,000 coffee farmers with best farming practices, and to improve the status of women throughout the value chain.
