Our approach

If you get an opportunity in life you need to grab it and make the most of it but what really makes you happy is to share that opportunity.

If you want to have an impact in Ethiopia, then coffee is the obvious choice

When you live in Ethiopia there are big challenges around every corner, on every street and within every metre that you walk. That’s the cliche story as with many developing countries, and while it’s true there are also a lot of opportunities. Ethiopia is a beautiful country, it is mineral rich, biodiverse, a home to over 120 million people and of course, it is the birthplace of coffee. It is the only country in Africa to have never been fully colonised and it has a strong and proud culture that is extremely deep rooted. One in four people are working or directly connected to the coffee sector but as many as 90% of those people aren’t making a ‘Living Income’ by which we mean living standards are not met, families are unable to fund their children’s education or their medical expenses. If you want to have an impact in Ethiopia, to bring about change and make opportunities, then coffee is the obvious choice.

In 2019 we inherited our grandfather’s farm but our understanding of its significance was developing long before then. When we visited the farm and saw Grandfather Syoum’s leadership within the Taferi Kela community it showed us a path to provide opportunities.The farm there was and still is our framework for a holistic approach to growing something strong and lasting.

Our family farm is the first step towards using coffee, coffee farming and the wider industry as a tool to have impact and build good meaningful jobs. A step towards not only adding value for people but affording them opportunities to add value for themselves.

The meaning of Bette Buna

Along with our farm we inherited values from our parents and grandparents, the name of the company ‘Bette Buna’ means ‘House of Coffee’, we are building a house, where everyone can find a home, a place where together we can develop in safety and happiness.

We are very aware that we farm within a farming community, our approach is to work collaboratively not competitively with that wider community. This is mutually beneficial as not only will farms thrive around us but if we grow demand beyond our farms supply we are able to buy good cherries from the farms around us. We do this by offering education as well as free seedlings of good varieties from our nursery and by paying price premiums that make it worthwhile for farmers to harvest only the best cherry. In essence our aim is not to simply train or educate so much as facilitate opportunities for people to harness themselves and develop a brighter future.

Inclusive growth

We aim to improve living standards by teaching on our own farms. These are far reaching from showing the differences that come with growing in sun or in shade, and replacing older heirloom trees with productive known varietals to teaching principles of agroforestry and regenerative farming. We also create awareness of child labour, forced labour and cultivate inclusive working conditions and culture. All of this education and information sharing has the added value of fostering trust and building loyalty. People want to work with us and sell cherries to us because we have established a relationship of open collaboration. We help people grow better cherry and then we pay them a better price for that cherry. We grow our quality and our production and our impact.

Our approach

If you want to have an impact in Ethiopia, then coffee is the obvious choice

The meaning of Bette Buna

Inclusive growth

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