Education

Song San Mawitalai Tribal Group: Akha Village: Doi Chang Altitude: 1400 meters Region: Chiang Rai   Q: How is it to be a part of this co-op? A: I enjoy this co-op very much. It provides me with stability, so I don’t have to worry each year about finding markets, and I can just focus on producing a quality cherry. Having a dependable co-op is important, because some farmers will just sell to the highest bidder, and although that may help them this year, it does not guarantee them a market for next year. This brings down the quota for...

  Pa Kha has been a village in which our partners, Integrated Tribal Development Program have been heavily involved with for over 20 years.  The first clean water system being built in 199, with a school shortly following and now coffee growing heavily in the village as a means of economic stability. Pha Kha literally translates to “forest of Kha”. “Kha is a type of tree that grows in the area. It is in the Lampang Province of Northern Thailand.   The village is comprised of mainly the Lahu tribe with some Karen villagers as well, for a total of...

Around two-thirds of all American adults start their day with coffee.... as of 2014, every third household in the US is growing their own food, at least partially. While these two things seem completely disconnected, there is a possible specific symbiotic relationship between the two. What most people don’t realize is how amazing the used up coffee grounds can be for your garden! Now, I am aware that many of us get our coffee from coffee shops, but that doesn’t have to deter us in our quest for the best fertilizer. In fact, many coffee shops will give used up...

 For more than 20 years, coffee has been sprouting in the hills of Doi Chang, the largest village producing Arabica coffee in Northern Thailand. The name Doi Chang means "Elephant Mountain". Elephants are the national animal of Thailand and it is said that that area used to have many wild elephants living in it.   Villagers moved here from China around 200 years ago. Today, most of the villagers still have Chinese ancestry and are second/third generation immigrants. Once a community dependent on growing opium which led to mistreatment of villagers, Doi Chang is a living example of how coffee is able...