Our IWCA Chapter relations manager Blanca Castro in an interview recently mentioned,
“….how much coffee could reach people, not only to share a cup of coffee but also learn about the culture, the natural resources, about the economical aspect of it all..”. This learning and educational process is so true of our connection as Australians to origin.
Amongst our current board we have two members, our President Gina Di Brita & Board Member Melissa Garcia have both established a connection to our closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, in different yet equally significant ways. We are so excited to see PNG coffees having increased representation in Australia, considering its existence in our consumer market for over half a century. Both Gina and Melissa have written a small coffee origin story alongside some images to share about connecting with Papua New Guinea.
GINA’s STORY
Landing in the airport of Port Moresby, I was greeted by Elijah Harro, the man behind the coffee cooperative – Alpha Coffee, whom I had exchanged several conversations over a couple of months prior to visiting, via Messenger. I knew immediately I had not made this trip in vain. Elijah came towards me with a big smile and a huge hug. I felt welcomed instantly, making it easy for me to get to know him and his community. As we jumped in his troop carrier, he turned to me saying….”Gina, here in PNG, we have a saying and this is called “Wan Tok” (One family) and once you visit our family, you are our family for life”. Elijah is a well-spoken and highly educated man. This was the beginning of a journey that would see me connect to the people and their land forever.
Papua New Guinea is one of the largest coffee-growing origins in the Pacific Oceania region established more than a century ago.
We have a timely opportunity to encourage consumers to take on the regional challenge and make a difference by purchasing an environmentally friendly product and to connect PNG coffee growers and coffee buyers within Australia.
The majority of the population in Papua New Guinea, lives in rural areas and relies on coffee for cash to cook, care for and educate their families.
There is an incentive for Australian coffee buyers to be a significant part of a transition taking place with small holder farmers moving from supplying bulk (commercial grade) coffee to premium-priced speciality coffee in order to break out of poverty, stop environmental degradation, and create jobs for their unemployed youth.
Some of the opportunities to connect with our nearest neighbour coffee producers include:
- Support women in coffee and provide youth opportunities
- Helping growers break out of commodity cycles into specialty markets
- Rediscover historical links between our countries
- Get to know the communities – direct connections
- Opportunities to influence best practice, reducing government red tape.
PNG Coffee has been in the Australian market for over 50 years and because of its proximity, shipping can take as little as two weeks, reducing costs as well as making it a convenient origin. It’s timely considering the outbreak of Covid 19 and how its impacting international shipping, which is a crucial element of coffee trade.
MELISSA’s STORY
I’ve had the great pleasure to have travelled to and from PNG since the early 2000’s, alongside my now husband (and now business partner) who grew up between the Eastern & Western Highlands. My experiences in PNG have therefore not been isolated to coffee. Through my family ties I’ve also explored PNG’s coasts and experienced the hospitality of remote island communities throughout the archipelago – areas which are too impacted in various ways by industrial activities. However, throughout my travels (particularly in the Highlands regions) coffee remains a visible primary industry & inescapable crop of the social and natural landscapes.
Being half Colombian and understanding la cultura del café from that socio-cultural perspective, I’ve been able to observe interesting parallels and some stark contrasts alongside Papua New Guinea’s social world of coffee. Through business, we have grounded our engagements in coffee around respect to culture, land and social justice. At every stage of our coffee travels in PNG women are present. Whether in a village food garden tending to crops, travelling by foot, road, any means really to get their cherry or parchment to market, sorting coffee at a mill or working in quality control at the mill or in a lab, as well as more recently as baristas. Through my family introduction to PNG and continued relationship with the country I am experiencing so many opportunities for women in coffee to be connecting, sharing and empowering one another. Papua New Guinea and our connection to its coffee sector plays an important role, I believe, in bridging many gaps that exist in relation to our identity, culture and even to land management within the broader Oceanic region.
Recent Comments