Chelchele washing station

The story

The Chelchele washing station operates as a community hub in the Gedeb district of Yirgacheffe, collecting coffee cherries from approximately 300 to 500 neighboring smallholder families. These producers typically cultivate coffee in small garden plots adjacent to their homes, maintaining traditional family-run farming practices. Some specific lots associated with the area are managed by producers like Ashenafi Olama and Simegn Gemede, whose family began their coffee business two decades ago.

Challenges

Producers face the inherent difficulties of managing small, fragmented plots of land and must navigate varying weather conditions that impact the duration of the drying process for natural coffees.

Innovations

The station utilizes precise processing techniques such as underwater fermentation for 36 hours, density separation for quality control, and the use of raised drying beds to ensure consistent moisture reduction.