Aware of their being blessed with a wonderful natural environment, the children of the coffee farmers of Mount Kelir in Semarang, Central Java, have stopped dreaming and started doing. They have opened coffee shops in their kampong on the slopes of the mountain. Apart from boosting the kampong’s economy, the coffee shops have turned drinking high-quality coffee into a viral culture.
Rosyid Muhlasin, 32, politely offered the blended coffee made by a kampong barista to customers of the Doesoen Kopi Sirap coffee shop, located around 2 kilometers from the main road between Ambarawa and Magelang. In the cool mountain breeze and amid a scene lush with coffee trees, the customers sipped their coffee. The atmosphere was truly serene.
“The Rp 150 million (US$11,093.45) budget to set up the coffee shop came from local farmers’ savings. Although we are located far from the main road, we’re receiving more and more customers by the day,” said Muhlasin on Sunday (1/10/2017) in Jambu district. Muhlasin also serves in the marketing unit of the Association of Mt Kelir Farmers Groups.
Every day, six people, including Muhlasin, tend to the coffee shop in Sirap hamlet of Kelurahan village, Jambu district. Since it was established in 2016, the coffee shop has had three “kampong baristas”, all of who are children of local coffee farmers. Every day, it sells from 25 to 30 cups of coffee. On weekends, it typically sells up to 60 cups of coffee. The Robusta and Arabica coffees on offer are mostly produced locally.
These coffee farmers’ children used to be uninterested in the future of coffee farms. Despite its renown as home to one of the best coffees in Central Java, Mt Kelir has seen many of its youth move away to the big cities to work in factories.
Despite its famed coffee, the people on Mt Kelir used to drink instant coffee. As the culture of drinking high-quality coffee spread into the kampong, the children of local coffee farmers began to think about how to promote the local commodity that their families had relied upon for decades.
Forming the community
Ngadiyanto, head of the Association of Mt Kelir Farmers Groups, said that many coffee farmers’ children were now actively developing coffee businesses. Many are members of the village’s youth organization. Their community established in 2016, Kopi_Peduli (Caring for Coffee), has 50 active members, 10 of whom are women.
Located about 60 kilometers southwest of Semarang, Mt Kelir is famous for its Mocha Java variant. The coffee has a chocolaty aroma from the cacao that grow on the plantation of state-owned company PTPN IX.
There are 1,600 coffee trees owned by around 100 farmers in Sirap hamlet alone. More than 500 hectares for potential coffee farms cover the slopes of Mt Kelir. A good harvest produces 60 tons of coffee. Sixty percent of farmers export their “all grade” coffee, while the rest is sold to the domestic market.
However, Ngadiyanto said, not many local residents were familiar with Mt Kelir’s coffee variant. He fully supported the younger generation’s initiative to market their coffee products through modern means.
“To support the coffee business, we have turned the meeting hall in Sirap hamlet into a coffee shop,” Ngadiyanto said.
Through Kopi_Peduli, the children of Mt Kelir’s coffee farmers exchange their ideas on how to develop the marketing for local coffee products. The community’s field coordinator, 21-year-old Muhammad Rosyid, said that the community was served as a place for learning and discussions.
“People from everywhere can come here to learn how to start a coffee business. We need to begin with a simple coffee shop. We help each other,” said Rosyid, who owns coffee shops in the Sidomukti tourist area, Jimbaran and Bandungan.
The community’s main mission is to market the coffee products of the members’ families. Next, they help each other in establishing coffee shops. Kopi_Peduli has already helped open coffee shops in Ungaran, Bandungan and Jambu, nearly all of which are located in kampongs.
Networking is important for exchanging ideas, as establishing coffee shops is neither easy nor cheap. At least Rp 5 million is needed to purchase equipment, including scales, grinders, a few sets of coffee cups, and coffee pots. Apart from a strategic location, a skilled barista is also important.
Rosyid said barista skills were often learned independently, because of the steep cost of at least Rp 30 million for barista courses. Even so, several members had taken such courses in Semarang.
“After gaining the skills, they are required to spread their knowledge to other members,” Rosyid said.
Social campaign
Apart from its economic aspects, Kopi_Peduli also promotes the coffee-drinking culture through social activities. They hold coffee parties in the kampongs featuring performances, stand-up comedy and discussions.
At these coffee parties, guests pay as much or as little as they want to enjoy unlimited cups of coffee. The event’s slogan is “1% Coffee, 99% Sharing”. The collected money is then used for social activities or helping community members open coffee shops.
At Kopi_Peduli’s coffee party in July in Sirap hamlet, 1,000 cups of coffee were sold and Rp 3 million collected. Nuh Nafis, a barista at the Sirap coffee shop, the event also served to strengthen the bonds between local coffee lovers, industry players and communities in the hilly regions of Semarang regency.
“In late October, we will hold another Kopi_Peduli event at the Ngempon Temple tourist area. Everyone can come, drink coffee and pay what they want,” said Nafis.
