“As the head of my village, I must lead my community to build a coffee culture where one has never existed before.”
“Coffee drinking is not really a part of everyday Lao culture. So for my village, it was pretty unusual when I prepared coffee at our evening village meeting in Phalem. Typically, only the village elders drink coffee, and so everyone felt special that night as they sipped their drip coffee that I prepared for them. Some people like the taste of the pure drip coffee, but lots of villagers have only had sugary instant coffee, so drip coffee is too bitter for them. Over time, though, I think more people will grow to like the taste. As for my family, they have all tried it and surprisingly, the person who liked it best of all was my little two year old boy who now prefers the taste of coffee to candy! We hope that in the future, there will be many more coffee drinkers in Laos so we can produce coffee to meet the demand.”
“Since I became a coffee farmer, I’ve decided that it is important for me to understand how to best farm coffee. As a village head, trying different kinds and sharing with my village about my experiences is a good way to help villagers learn more about coffee. At first, our coffee plantations were not very pretty, but now they are so green and look amazing! The beautiful green color of the plants means that the coffee is growing well, and good, green coffee means good income for my village, my family and myself. It also means that farmers in my village can have pride in their hard, honest work.”
“Farming coffee is really a family affair. My wife and two school aged children all help me with the plantation, and I need their help because between coffee, cassava, rice and my livestock, there’s always work to be done. I’m planning on spending the money we make from our plantation on education for my children and also new clothes for my family. Honestly, I am tired a lot of the time, but I believe that if we work hard, and our plantation prospers, we can be prosperous too. Now that I’ve been introduced to real coffee and finished the bag of coffee beans I received from Southern Laos, I know that coffee is a good product people love.”
