Menschen für Menschen foundation (MfM) project puts West Shoa on the coffee production map of Ethiopia. The reputable international foundation, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, has also allocated the biggest ever budget on projects that will be run in the 2022 budget year.
Yilma Taye, Country Director of MfM, said that the Dano integrated rural development project which is located 235 km west of Addis Ababa began in 2017, “we have identified the area that has ecological similarity with coffee production areas like Jimma. Following the identification of a flourishing ecosystem we introduced the distribution of coffee seedlings to the farmers, who amazingly accepted.”
“We are expanding to provide coffee seedlings in millions to the farmers in the area,” stated Yilma whilst recalling the support of Dallmayr Coffee – a German based prominent coffee company and one of the major Ethiopian coffee buyers, which has supported MfM on the multipurpose tree plantation program that includes fruit and coffee seedlings. The German firm capitalized on the opportunity and provided its wide range support to accelerate the coffee plantation program in western Shoa.
“To create jobs we have organized the youth in the area and established the required facilities to process the harvested coffee. They are buying the bean from the farmers and process it to supply to the market,” noted Yilma.
He said the MfM’s vision is to make the areas of ‘West Shoa as a Coffee Hub’ despite it being a new comer in the coffee map of Ethiopia. West Shoa is well known for its grain production as opposed to the brown bean, however, this narrative is now changing and export of the bean has already commenced.
The prominent German company has also identified that the coffee harvested in West Shoa is high grade. As a result it has started buying the bean and stocked the high quality coffee on its shelves for sale.
Dallmayr is buying the bean through Bageresh Coffee, one of the prominent coffee exporters in Ethiopia, and has introduced the bean under the brand ‘Dano Coffee’ to the global market.
“Our other project at Dano is expanding the production, productivity and marketing Niger seeds, which are one of the major products cultivated in the area,” Yilma says, adding, “we have organized the youth to engage on value addition of Niger seeds as edible oil and cake animal feed.”
“Our major target is to work on the area to expand the coffee and fruit plantation. For instance in the current planting year 19.4 million seedlings will be available for different project areas of the country and of that 30 percent will be fruit seedling,” he said.
MfM which was established four decades ago by the late Karlheinz Bohm has engaged on well accepted developmental projects in the country.
The foundation began through provision of relief aid in Erer valley, East Hararghe, and over the following years developed an integrated rural development approach for lasting impact.
The Foundation’s Executive Board Member and speaker, Sebastian Brandis, said that MfM is providing direct and critical development support like water, health service, decent income, education and land management for the public who are in need. The foundation has conducted its activities under the principle of independence from any other interest. “We don’t call our operations as aid, because aid is a symmetric. For us we collaborate in every project we are involved in with the local community. All we do is we enable people, and bolster self-confidence and create a pathway where the community can design their own life and destiny.”
During the press conference held Wednesday February 23, Brandis announced that Menschen für Menschen Foundation approved its first ever huge amount of 900 million birr for humanitarian and integrated rural development projects in Ethiopia, in the 2022 budget year.
He also noted that in the budget year, the Foundation will prioritize sustainable land management, water and youth job creation. Equivalently, the education and human development activities will also be kept in regular basis he explained.
The international foundation has also stated that it will continue providing its support in the rehabilitation program on the areas affected by the war in northern Ethiopia.
In its 40 year-operation, MfM has invested seven billion birr and constructed 461 schools, 6 technical colleges and different massive social and economic facilities for the public.