About Shakiso Jigesa
Jigesa is a remote woreda in Ethiopia’s Guji region. Guji name comes from a tribe of the Oromo people.
Shakiso (the district of this lot) is one of the Districts in East Guji Zone Oromia. Located at 500km South of Addis Ababa, Odo Shakiso is bordered on the south by the Dawa River, on the west by Bule Hora, on the North-East by Uraga, on the North by Bore & Adola, and on the East by Liben Districts.
Jigesa’s terrain is rugged and mountainous, so distance to the individual farms depends on where on the mountain they’re located. The closest farms to the city are 10 minutes away by motorcycle and the furthest ones are an hour away.
Most farms have access to dirt roads, so at harvest time producers transport bags of cherry by motorcycle, horse, or donkey to the nearest collection center. These bags then travel by truck to the central collection center in Jigesa. In general, transport between farms and collection centers is simple enough. This changes during November and December’s rainy season, which intersects with harvest. During the rainy season, temperatures reach 25℃/77℉, with higher humidity than the rest of the year. These conditions are ideal for coffee plants but troublesome for logistical operations in the field due to high chances of mud on dirt roads.
The producers of Jigesa intercrop their coffee with native trees of the area like the false banana tree to shade and fertilize their fields. Since the producers deliver all their coffee in cherry, they don’t have the waste generated by depulping to compost with, so the collection centers prepare and store organic compost and distribute it among the producers. Their coffee is fermented between 36 and 48 hours in cement tanks then dried between 5 and 7 days under plastic parabolic covers, based on climate.
The majority of producers here belong to the Gedeo culture and speak the Gedeo language. The traditions of their native culture are still very present in producers’ daily life. For instance, birds and domestic animals like dogs and cats are highly respected.
Since many farms are remote, access to clean water, electricity, and school for children is a constant challenge. That means children from the most distant farms often start working from a very young age. Opportunities are very few, but migrating to other cities is not a great option for young people in the area due to the large education gaps between their region and the city. Many young people decide to stay on their parents’ farms or buy neighboring farms and continue dedicating themselves to coffee for the rest of their lives.
This a very important area for Red Fox, where we can see year after year an improvement, the producers of the Guji area are trying their best to properly take care of their farms and therefore produce the best posible quality.
