In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, a small group of K’ho farmers was once trapped in debt. The reason behind this is that these farmers borrowed money from middlemen to buy fertilizers and then they had to sell their coffee back to those same middlemen at unfair prices (Truong, 2020). Nothing changed year after year.
In 2012, a young woman named Rolan and her husband Josh decided to try something different. They went back to traditional farming methods with no chemicals or fertilizers but purely manual labor and natural techniques. Their first harvest was smaller but the quality was better. Plus, they owed nothing to middlemen. Other families took notice and by 2018, 50 households joined the “K’ho Coffee” network (Truong, 2020). They helped each other pay off debts. Every Sunday after church, they shared farming tips to support each other. There was something special about the coffee they grew. It was clean, carefully grown, and full of flavor.
In 2014, K’ho Coffee scored 87 points at a major coffee competition in Seattle and became the best-rated coffee in Southeast Asia. Suddenly, the world wanted their coffee. While other farmers sold beans for 30 cents per kilogram, K’ho network members got 90 cents (Truong, 2020).
The farmers opened a café in their coffee garden and tourists come to see how the coffee grows. Tourists can pick cherries from the trees and taste the final product. In 2018, about 30% of sales come directly from visitors (Truong, 2020). The network also hired 20 young people from the community and they earn twice the minimum wage.
This coffee story of how Vietnamese farmers broke free from debt is a story of how communities can work together to escape an unfair system. Local knowledge and social bonds were utilized to survive in a global market. The K’ho farmers did not need fancy technology, they just needed each other. When farmers control their own production and build strong networks, they can negotiate better prices and create sustainable futures.
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Author: Khánh Linh Châu – Research Assistant
Photo Credit: @khocoffee
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References:
Truong, H. T. T. (2020). Community initiatives and local networks among k’ho cil smallholder coffee farmers in the central highlands of Vietnam: A case study. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 55(6), 880–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909620935427
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Vietnam Outdoor Tourism Research Project
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