Tigist Mitiku

Tigist Mitiku is a woman producing coffee in the Konga area in Yirgacheffe district. Tigist is a mother of five  (three boys and two girls). She used to deliver her coffee to a nearby cooperative called Konga which is affiliate of Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). But, since 2018 she joined other single producer exporters. As agroforestry is tradition in the Gedeo zone, where yirgacheffe coffee grows, her family also maintains the coffee under shade tree and also by intercropping with false banana, a plant that has a vital role in maintaining soil fertility and moisture, specially during dry seasons. To further improve productivity home made compost is used to fertilize her coffee. Overall quality of coffee is significantly improving in the region since the single producers are allowed to directly export their coffee to roasters abroad. Tigist is among the leading quality coffee suppliers in the areas. Her farm is mostly planted with the new varietal coffee which is locally called "Kudhume". The Kudhumes are small bean coffees with higher density compared to the others beans.