A new flavour may soon reach Bhutanese coffee cups. Farmers in Gazawoong, Pema Gatshel, are celebrating their first successful coffee harvest after years of patience. The achievement marks a promising new source of income and a hopeful future for the village.
Red coffee cherries are carefully plucked by hand in Gazawoong village of Pema Gatshel. For the farmers here, this harvest marks a long-awaited milestone.
These ripe cherries are the village’s first-ever coffee produce. After harvesting, the cherries are spread out to dry under the sun.
The simple drying process helps preserve the quality before storage. Once dried, the cherries can be stored safely until sale. The dried beans are later collected and packed in sacks.
Farmers say the work is manageable and suitable even for older villagers.
This year alone, the village expects to harvest nearly half a ton of coffee cherries.
“Officials from the Mountain Coffee Office visited our village even before the fruits matured. We are very thankful because we now have a market for our produce. The work is not very difficult, and we are planning to expand coffee cultivation,” said Cheten Dorji, a farmer in Gazawoong.
Choni Dorji, another farmer said, “Even though we are old, I always tell others that coffee is better than many fruit trees because it does not take very long to start bearing fruit.”
A coffee plant starts bearing fruit in about three to four years. Gazawoong village, under Chokhorling Gewog, turned to coffee cultivation after orange trees in the area began to dry up.
With support from the government, farmers received coffee saplings and began experimenting a few years ago.
Although low yields initially discouraged many farmers in the district, the people of Gazawoong remained patient.
Encouraged by a guaranteed market from the Mountain Coffee Office, farmers have started raising their own saplings.
Currently, more than ten households are engaged in coffee cultivation. For the people of Gazawoong, this first harvest signals a new source of income and a hopeful beginning.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
