Bengaluru:
Verdant forests, picturesque mountains, lush coffee plantations — for many, Coorg is the perfect place to unwind. However, it was a different quest which took Arshiya Bose to the coffee land. A PhD holder in geography and environmental science from the University of Cambridge, she visited Coorg as part of a research project. Her mission — to make coffee production environment-friendly.
Realizing not all is well with the current production process — use of pesticides, exploitation of farmers, growth of coffee in the sun instead of shade — Arshiya, 32, started looking for ways to make it sustainable. She wanted to address these problems by adopting a holistic approach that ensures the well-being of both the environment and the coffee producers. The result — Black Baza Coffee, an entrepreneurial idea currently being incubated at the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), IIM Bangalore. The centre mentors innovators and supports their ventures.
During her research, Ashriya got the opportunity to work with forest dwellers and tribal communities in the Western Ghats, which helped her get closer to her goal. “I studied the social and environmental impacts of coffee production and found there were a number of problems no one was doing anything about. Traditionally, coffee in India has been grown under the shade of trees. But now, it is grown directly under the sun’s harsh rays, which adversely impacts biodiversity. Also, the trade market is extremely unfair to the producers, with the exploitation levels being very high. To fix the loopholes in the social and environmental ecosystem, I started Black Baza Coffee,” said Arshiya, who has tied up with many producers.
So far, the Kolkata resident has got 35 coffee producers on board, of whom 31 are marginal farmers from Biligiriranga Hills in Chamarajnagar. All of them are small growers —they own farms spanning less than 25 acres. “Under our partnership, we promise to buy coffee from farmers, support them through agronomic training and quality improvement and build safeguards for unforeseen price crashes. Many small growers are exploited and we hope to be the most fair buyer of their product ensuring they get their due,” said the young entrepreneur.
Explaining the potential of the idea, professor Suresh Bhagavatula, chairperson, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, NSRCEL, IIMB said, “Coffee is among the top five most popular legally traded products in the world, including oil. It is a $90 billion industry and supports about 75 million people. While India is among the top 10 coffee-producing nations, it accounts for about 3.5% of the world exports. Unlike the rest of the world where sustainability and fair trade are becoming important for consumers, it is yet to catch on in India”.
“Black Baza Coffee would like to market the produce from farmers who practice sustainable methods for production. Consumption of coffee in India has started to increase, which will make it more feasible for ventures such as BBC to be established and serve the local markets as well,” Suresh added.
MUTUAL BENEFIT
We make conversational agreements with farmers and enter into a mutual understanding with them to grow coffee under certain kinds of trees, restrict the use of pesticides and protect their water resources. In return, Black Baza Coffee guarantees to buy coffee from these farmers at a higher premium
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / Shilpa Baburaj, TNN / May 25th, 2016
