This lot comes to us from Wicho, one of the main cooperatives belonging to the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU). The SCFCU is one of Ethiopia’s largest and best-known exporting organizations with 53 member cooperatives and over 80,000 member households throughout the Sidama Zone. There are 2715 specialty coffee farmers that belong to the Wicho cooperative. These farmers are truly smallholder farmers, with their farms averaging less than a hectare of coffee cultivation each.

These farmers deliver their coffee cherry daily to one of Wicho’s two processing sites, located in the Bera Tadicho and Gajamo kebeles municipalities. At each processing site, the specialty coffee cherry is sorted, depulped, and fermented overnight in water.

Wicho prioritizes programs that are crucial for their small producers such as organic farming training and investing in basic infrastructure like road improvements and establishing local warehouses. Additionally, SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the additional ways they strive to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families.