Bekele Yutute inherited his farm 20 years ago and has been dedicated to continuously improving quality through Good Agricultural Practices. His focus on tree health and high-quality cherry includes regenerative methods such as planting new seedlings and uprooting old coffee trees. With his son, Samuel, Bekele plans to expand the farm and further grow their business.
Bekele grows a mixture of local landrace varieties (which have, in the past, been called Ethiopian heirloom) and JARC varieties on his farm. JARC varieties come from the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and provides disease resistant varieties that also preserve cup quality.
Bekele and his family selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on the farm. Once picked, they visually handsort cherry to ensure only ripe, red cherry is processed. Then, they lay cherry on raised beds to dry and rake it frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 15 to 22 days for cherry to dry.
