Manufacturer product description
Coffee cultivation in Indonesia and Sumatra: Coffee has been cultivated in Indonesia since 1696, at that time almost exclusively in Java and introduced by the Dutch. However, since the natural conditions on Java are not necessarily suitable for Arabica coffees (not enough height), the plantations have been completely destroyed several times over the centuries by pests. Well-known coffees come from Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea and Sumatra.
After a road was built in 1924 in northern Sumatra from the coast to the previously undeveloped Gayo highlands, the Dutch planted the first Arabica in the province of Aceh, almost exclusively in the two districts of Bener Maria and Aceh Tengah, with the centre of Takengon as capital.
Takengon itself is beautifully situated at an altitude of about 1,100 m at a 12 km long crater lake, which was created by an enormous volcanic eruption.
The area was developed very late because headhunters were a threat in the inaccessible highlands of Sumatra until well into the 20th century. Due to the independence efforts and the associated civil war from 1990 until the tsunami, in which about 110,000 people died, coffee cultivation almost came to a complete standstill in the years after 1995 until about 2004, the growing areas became wild.
After the tsunami, which claimed some 210,000 lives in the province of Aceh (but on the coastline) and caused the entire international community to fall over Aceh, the Helsinki Agreement between the parties to the conflict was concluded in 2005 and the conflict ended. Since around 2003, daring, well-known coffee traders have been making their first attempts to rehabilitate the plantations and reap coffee. These experiments have been massively supported by international financial aid and with the enormous motivation of the very hard-working coffee farmers since approx. mid-2005 and in 2006 approx. 8,000 tonnes of coffee were exported again. The demand for Gayo Highland Coffee worldwide is growing continuously, mainly due to its high quality and intensive aroma. Based on the current worldwide demand, it is expected that in about 5 years about 100,000 people will be able to feed on this product in this region, provided that the quality can be maintained and improved. The term "the ability to feed" is to be taken literally: You will have an income that is certainly well above Indonesia's average standard of living and ensures food, education and a minimum of health care. The health system in particular is currently still very poor and expansion is urgently needed.
