"Duromina, which means “to improve their lives” in the Afan Oromo language, is a coffee cooperative in southwestern Ethiopia’s Jimma Zone. Coffee has grown here for generations but was traditionally processed using the dry, natural method. Farmers paid little attention to quality control. Despite an ideal climate and altitude for coffee growing, the area’s coffee was synonymous with poor quality. Year after year, farmers received low prices for their coffee, earning little income as a result.

In 2010, more than 100 local coffee farmers banded together to form Duromina. As the name suggests, their goal was simple: to improve their lives. With technical support, business advice and access to finance through TechnoServe’s Coffee Initiative, the members acquired and installed a wet mill and began processing fully washed coffee for the first time.

This improvement helped Duromina produce high-quality coffee and bring new prosperity to the community. Two years later, an international panel of professional judges would select Duromina’s coffee as the best in Africa, awarding the cooperative the top prize in the leading regional cupping competition.

See more at: http://www.technoserve.org/our-work/stories/ethiopian-farmers-find-value-in-high-quality-coffee"