In West Papua’s Arfak Mountains, Coffee Farming Builds Livelihoods Around the Land

Community training and improved processing are helping indigenous growers develop Arabica coffee while caring for their surroundings.

Coffee farmers in Indonesia’s Arfak Mountains are developing a local industry through training, improved processing, and direct purchasing, connecting livelihood opportunities with efforts to care for the landscape.

According to a November 4 release from the initiative, coffee production now involves 37 farmer groups across seven districts, with approximately 35 hectares planted in home gardens.

The work shows how the value of a familiar crop can change when growers gain the knowledge and systems needed to bring it to market.

From garden plant to income source

Coffee has long grown alongside vegetables and fruit trees in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua. Before 2018, however, many households did not consider it a significant livelihood.

Barto Inden, a 28-year-old agricultural worker and owner of Kopi Anggi, recalled that some farmers kept only one or two trees and saw little reason to develop them.

The growing areas sit approximately 1,800 to 2,000 meters above sea level. While the landscape provides conditions suited to Arabica, farmers needed cultivation knowledge, processing facilities, and access to buyers.

Local organization Bentara Papua began providing assistance in 2019, working with communities to develop practices suited to their gardens and circumstances.

Learning from the community’s own farms

Through the Merdesa Village School, or SEKAM, young people receive training in sustainable natural resource management. Bentara Papua’s Udohotma Station serves as a learning, production, and harvest consolidation center.

Training covers locally sourced seedlings, compost preparation, planting distances, pruning, and pest management. Farmers use materials such as manure, decayed leaves, and kitchen waste for fertilizer, alongside botanical pest-control preparations.

“We did not bring a finished system. We learned together with the community from their own gardens, and from there we assessed the potential of this coffee in accordance with the community culture,” said Demius Aud, coordinator of the Udohotma Station.

Post-harvest work has also become more structured. Procedures include sorting, flotation, fermentation, washing, and drying, with solar dryers helping manage moisture consistently.

Students from the University of Papua supported the initiative in 2024 through research on soil conditions and coffee pests.

Keeping more value close to growers

The initiative reports that green bean prices have increased from approximately IDR80,000 to IDR100,000 per kilogram.

Purchases made directly at production sites provide cash payments to farmers without intermediaries. Marketed through Kopi Anggi, the coffee is offered as green beans, roasted beans, and ground coffee.

It has reached cafés in Manokwari and attracted interest from buyers in Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Supply remains limited as producers work within their processing capacity and quality requirements.

The initiative also promotes intercropping and avoiding land burning as part of its approach to landscape care.

For Filipino readers interested in coffee origins, Arfak’s story places the growers and their work at the center. Behind the finished drink are decisions about training, processing, payment, and how the land will support the next harvest.

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