Back Story
In the early 1990’s, when the price of coffee was very low, several farmers began cutting their coffee trees to grow tangerines and oranges instead. Some of the farmers uprooted all of their coffee trees to make way for the new crops, while others planted oranges and tangerines between the rows of coffee trees. This provided shade cover for the coffee and provided the diversification needed to maximize the return from the land.
Farming techniques in Kintamani are relatively uniform. Manure is produced organically by cattle, goats and poultry on the farm and pesticides are never used. The population of coffee ranges from 1,111 to 2,000 trees per hectare. The farmers generally prune their coffee trees using a single stem system. They cut their trees at 180cm in height in order to ease harvesting. In this system, cherry quality depends on branch management; better pruning yields higher quantities of high quality cherries.
Harvesting begins in May or early June and ends in September or early October. After picking the cherries, the farmers sort through to pick out cherries that do not meet their quality standard. After sorting, the outer skin of the cherries is removed by the pulping machine. Then the pulped coffee is put into a fermentation tank for 24-36 hours. After washing, the coffee is sun-dried on patios and drying racks.
Coffee farmers in Kintamani are strongly organized through Subak Abian (SA), a traditional structure of farmer organization in the upland areas of Bali. SA plays an important role not only in agricultural activities, but also in religious activities. Founded on the Hindu philosophy of “Tri Hita Karana” (The three causes of happiness), a great importance is placed on the relationship of the individual to God, to other people, and to his or her environment. Each SA democratically establishes its own written rules,“awig-awig,” and also works to form village cooperatives.