The name “Duromina” means “improve their lives” in the local Ethiopian language of Afan Oromo, an apt name considering what the Duromina Cooperative has achieved in its short history. Since being established in 2010 the cooperative has, amongst things other than just producing delicious coffee, paid off a 4-year bank loan after the first year, built a bridge over the river and a local road infrastructure to combat the rainy season, provided electricity to the village, fitted tin roofs on most of the member’s houses and created a local health clinic to bring essential services to those in the area.
Not content with improving their locality, the cooperative turned their attention to its own growth. A second washing station has opened to increase capacity, allowing them to buy and process non-members' cherries on top of their own. Working together, output and quality has increased so much so that coffee from the cooperative now sells for nearly five times as much as was received before the creation of Duromina, leading to roughly a 50% increase to each member’s income. All this means coffee is now a viable and rewarding way to make a living for the smallholders of the Duromina cooperative. Workshop are proud to be part of their story and we hope you enjoy this, our first Ethiopian of the season.
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