Coffee, a plantation crop, is a long-term investment for the coffee farmer in Coorg. Robusta and Arabica are the two commercially planted varieties in Coorg. For a farmer who wishes to profitably cultivate either of these varieties, coffee farming is a lifetime’s commitment.

A Coffee Plant in Coorg

The roots of coffee cultivation can be traced to European traders, who established coffee plantations, notably in areas like Pollibetta, Siddapur and Somwarpet.

The employment of the locals by the Europeans on their plantations in Coorg helped coffee gain ascendance over paddy cultivation in Coorg.

Once trained, these locals imparted their professional expertise to their kith and kin at their ancestral villages, enabling most of the local populace to become self-sufficient with their coffee earnings. The local farmer cultivates coffee with great pride.

Coffee in perhaps the 4th and 5th generation in most Kodava families is cultivated zealously. A family’s entire needs are sought to be met with the earnings from these farms, which in addition to coffee, will also produce some pepper, paddy and other minor crops.

A Coffee Farm in Coorg

Most will refer to their gardens with great pleasure and delight. Bragging about your enterprise is the norm, and there can be endless discussions on best practices to be adopted for sustainable profits.

Many of the local youth with professional qualifications have returned to cultivate their ancestral farms, spurning more lucrative careers in the metros. The outdoorsy nature of the coffee career is too much to give up for a desk job, however rewarding the latter might be.

Even those who opt for careers in the metros, away from their farms, continue to frequently return to their farms, and often pine for life on their coffee gardens even as they work at other professions.

Life for the typical coffee farmers’ families revolves around their coffee enterprise. The existence of the farmer and his family is mainly determined by coffee.

Parents will send their children to boarding school if necessary, but not part company with their farms. Children will fondly refer to their homes all the time whilst away. Home is indeed the farm rather than the actual abode in which they reside.

A Farmer's Home Amidst a Coffee Farm

All activities of the family are planned only after the needs of the farm are met. Social wants, medical requirements and educational needs are sacrificed in order to keep the farm in good health.

For man, woman and child, the commitment is absolute and total. The zeal with which families will refer and discuss their coffee farms indicates their absolute loyalty and dedication.

Many farms are ably managed just by women folk and it is not unusual to find that many proprietors are indeed women.

Ably assisting in the farmer’s commitment is the Central Coffee Research Institute of the Coffee Board. Through assiduous research, it has introduced the most profitable strains suitable for local cultivation.

Once a coffee farmer, you will always continue to consider it to be your primary occupation, irrespective of whatever else might be your current occupation.

Mr. Achayya Mukattira

Mr. Achayya Mukattira is a planter engaged in Corporate farming in South India for about a decade. He has worked with crops such as Tea, Coffee, Pepper, and Cardamom and possesses sound knowledge regarding landscaping and ornamental plant culture. He has been a farmer since 1996, tending a small ancestral coffee plantation in a village called Arapattu, in South Kodagu. He spends a major portion of his time on his farm and feels ‘one’ with nature during these occasions.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 at 11:32 AM and is filed under Farming, Flora, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.