Transforming vulnerable coffee-growing households

In Ethiopia’s coffee region Sidama, most smallholder farmers depend entirely on the yield of their coffee trees for survival. Yet the land they farm is limited, and their harvests often too small to sustain a family. Poor soil fertility, aging trees, and a changing climate make it harder each year to grow quality coffee; leaving farmers working harder, but earning less. This cycle of dependency and decline keeps many families trapped in poverty.

Grow+ was created to change that. To tackle the root causes of low productivity and economic vulnerability. The program focuses on improving yield and quality within the small plots farmers already own, with a special emphasis on specialty coffee that can bring higher and more stable incomes.

Under Grow+, we develop projects that combine innovation with local knowledge.

• Ademonstration farm serves as a living classroom where farmers learn and test practical solutions together.

• A contextual farm curriculum, designed by farmers for farmers, shares hands-on lessons in soil health, composting, agroforestry, and climate adaptation.

• Annual access to 350.000 affordable, climate-resilient seedlings helps farmers renew and strengthen their plots while improving both quality and resilience.

• We facilitate the production of organic fertilizer made out of waste-streams, and sustainable practices to build long-term soil fertility and protect the environment that sustains the coffee.

Step by step, Grow+ helps 3500 farmers turn limited land into opportunity and hope: improving yield, quality, and income while laying the foundation for self-sustaining, resilient livelihoods.

In Ethiopia’s coffee-growing communities, even when farmers manage to grow better coffee, much of its potential value is lost after harvest. Without access to proper processing facilities or knowledge of post-harvest handling, beans often lose quality and the chance to earn a fairer price. Most smallholders sell unprocessed cherries to intermediaries, missing out on the income and pride that come from understanding and improving their own product.

This lack of local processing also breaks traceability; making it difficult for roasters and importers to source directly from individual farmers, ensure transparency, or reward quality. As a result, both producers and buyers lose value in a system that favors volume over connection.

Process+ was created to change that. To help farmers capture more of the value they create and to build a transparent, quality-driven link between farmer and roaster. The program focuses on developing the skills, knowledge, and infrastructure that keep both the income and the story of the coffee within the community.

Under Process+, we work together to:

• Train farmers in coffee processing. From floating, pulping, and washing to drying, storing, and understanding how each step shapes cup quality and value.

• Operate a community wet mill, providing access to equipment, quality control, and market linkages, while creating inclusive and stable jobs.

• Offer co-production opportunities for talented farmers to process coffee alongside us or at their own farms, enabling them to earn higher prices for higher quality.

• Strengthen financial literacy and business awareness, so farmers understand their product, their costs, and their worth.

• Encourage traceability and transparency, connecting farmers directly with roasters and importers who value quality, origin, and accountability.

Step by step, Process+ helps farmers move beyond survival farming toward entrepreneurship. Creating and keeping more value in their own hands, while building transparent, quality-driven relationships that benefit the entire coffee chain.

In Ethiopia’s rural communities, the biggest barrier to change isn’t just a lack of resources. It’s a lack of opportunity, mindset and voice. Many young people and women grow up believing their future is already decided for them, with little access to education, representation, or the skills needed to lead change.

Lead+ was created to change that. Because transformation doesn’t happen through projects; it happens through people. Lead+ focuses on those people: the next generation of farmers, youth, and women who have the courage, ideas, and determination to shape their own future.

Together with local role models, young changemakers, and the team of Bette Buna, we create safe spaces to grow mindset and confidence. Building curiosity, leadership, and the belief that change can start from within.

Projects under Lead+ focus on practical learning and dialogue around financial literacy, life skills, entrepreneurship, and storytelling; combined with open conversations about gender equality, inclusion, and opportunity.

Lead+ runs alongside our Grow+ and Process+ programs, because leadership here isn’t inherited or given. It’s something we learn, share, and grow together.

In Ethiopia’s rural coffee-growing communities, opportunities rarely stay where they’re created. Too often, value flows out through middlemen, markets, and systems that leave farmers and youth with little control over their own futures. Without ownership, progress remains fragile, and communities remain dependent.

Own+ is where everything comes together. Where courage and creativity turn into creation. It’s about people taking charge of what they’ve built: their farms, their ideas, their future. With determination and an entrepreneurial mindset, farmers and youth are learning to see their work as enterprises. From coffee farming and local home-processing to new businesses and shared community ventures.

Step by step, Own+ helps rural communities grow into self-sustaining local economies. Ones that create their own opportunities, drive their own growth, and keep value where it belongs. Together, we’re building something that lasts, and something that can inspire others to do the same.