TL Washed Organic

Cooperativa Café Timor

Coffee has been grown in East Timor since colonial times under the Portuguese. By 1865 coffee accounted for over 50% of the value of exports from the colony. Under Indonesian rule, Timorese coffee growers were forced to sell their produce through a company owned by the military at lower than standard world prices. Indonesian militias destroyed much of East Timor's coffee industry after the 1999 referendum, but it is quickly rebuilding with international assistance.
Although East Timor accounts for less than 1% of the world's coffee production, coffee is currently the country's major export commodity and provides a substantial income for nearly a quarter of the population.
Most coffee grown in East Timor (about 80%) is the high-quality arabica variety and has the added advantage of being grown organically. Some of the crops are processed using wet-milling or washing, by which the beans are separated from the fruit of pulp within 24 hours of being picked. The beans are then soaked in water to remove the mucous membrane layer before they are sun-dried. This process adds substantially to the value of the coffee. The traditional and more common method is to sun-dry the cherries after they are harvested then remove the pulp and sell the beans for further processing in another country.
After initial wet milling or dry processing the majority of the crop is sent to Indonesia for further processing. Between 85-90% of Timorese crop is exported.

In an effort to boost East Timor's economic growth and raise incomes for farming families, USAID has supported the work of the Cooperativa Café Timor, a federation of Timorese owned cooperatives that produce and export premium organic coffee. The Cooperativa Café Timor and its sister cooperatives count more than 20,000 member families who grow coffee, the country's most valuable export.
Since first starting to work with USAID in 2000, the cooperativa has opened a training academy for crop diversification, provided business training to entrepreneurs, developed export markets, and opened trade links with neighboring Indonesia.
Coffee remains a major crop in East-Timor. The cooperative has significantly improved global market opportunities for coffee crops. For instance, it has earned organic and Fair Trade certifications, enabling members to demand higher prices for their coffee.
The Cooperativa Café Timor has now become a self-sustaining business model for coffee production and export activities. USAID's assistance is part of an effort to help East Timor diversify and increase agricultural production and expand both domestic and international. The ongoing support from USAID is currently unknown due to the change in US government direction.