Hangadhi

The village of Hangadhi is located a few kilometres from the town of Shakisso, in the Guji area. Guji Highland Coffee Plantation has set up a drying station here, with around 40 African beds. The coffee dried at Hangadhi is collected from around thirty farmers who work the neighbouring plots. These family farms average just a few hectares in size and are farmed entirely by hand by men with ancient skills.

Here, coffee is grown in orchards and integrated into mixed farming models, notably beans, cabbage and enset. The latter plant, also known as false banana because of its specific shape, is an important part of the region's agricultural system, as its root is a staple of the local diet. The combination of coffee and these food crops works harmoniously. This is made possible by the rich, moist soils that give the harvested beans their quality.

At Hangadhi, Guji Highland Coffee Plantation is developing its quality standards while maintaining practices that respect biodiversity. Belco and Guji Highland Coffee Plantation share the same long-term vision of producing more sustainable coffee.

The Odo Shakiso area is densely forested. There are many shade trees to protect the coffee trees, conserve moisture and improve soil fertility. There are endemic species such as the Wanza, which can grow to 25m, and the Qararo, which can grow to 40m, as well as fruit trees: bananas, avocados, mangoes and sugar cane. The clay soils here are very fertile. This fertility is further enhanced by the agroforestry model that prevails in this historic coffee-growing area.

The origins of coffee in Guji go back several centuries, with wild varieties growing naturally in the region's forests. Local communities, mainly of the Oromo ethnic group, used coffee in their traditional practices long before it was commercially exploited. 

For a long time, the Guji appellation was included in the Sidama appellation. In order to better distinguish the quality of the coffee produced here, this designation was separated by the Ethiopian authorities in the 2000s. This new designation makes it possible to refine the traceability of Ethiopian coffees and, above all, to better reflect their quality in terms of taste and typicality in the cup. 

Today, the Guji appellation produces some of the finest coffees in the world. Coffee here is an ancient crop, grown on hilly plateaus in a dense forest or semi-forest environment, where the diversity of endemic species provides optimal shade for the coffee trees and contributes to the fertility of the soil.