This washed lot comes to us from Fero, a cooperative in the Sidama Zone of Ethiopia. Founded in 1975, Fero originally operated independently due to the lack of a greater exporting network. Now, Fero is one of the primary cooperatives in the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), one of Ethiopia’s largest exporters.

The cooperative has over 5000 farmer members, making it one of the union’s largest in both membership and output. Farmers in this region are truly smallholders as each on average owns less than 1 hectare of land. Located at approximately 1930masl, they use their land for coffee cultivation as well as vegetable production for their own consumption and to sell.