The success of the Duromina cooperative and the Kata Muduga Cooperative Union it’s a part of, is a model case for how strategic investment in aid can lead to lasting economic impact and incredible tasting coffee. Prior to 2010, coffee grown in Ethiopia’s Jimma district was considered some of the lowest quality in the country. Despite having ideal growing conditions and a wealth of unique, delicious varieties, coffee in this area was sold into the commercial market at low prices. This left no incentive to focus on quality picking, and little means to invest in better post-harvest processing equipment, perpetuating a cycle of low quality and low prices. 

In 2010, Technoserve, an international non-profit with a focus on business development, set out to break this cycle. The project united groups of farmers around Jimma who organized into cooperatives. Technoserve supported the growth of these groups through technical assistance, business consulting, and access to finance. Through the project, Duromina was able to invest in the infrastructure and equipment needed to centrally process high quality washed coffee. In doing so, they revealed the incredible quality of Jimma coffee to the world. In the years that followed the project, coffees from groups aligned with Technoserve became darlings of the specialty coffee world, and coffee from Duromina became a staple of many roasters and cafes single origin menus.

By 2016, the cooperatives around Jimma formed a farmer-owned cooperative union called Kata Muduga, to facilitate export of their coffees. When the Technoserve project officially ended, the Kata Muduga union stepped in to provide similar ongoing support to these groups and even expanded the services offered over time. 

While the purchase of processing equipment revealed the region’s untapped potential for high-quality coffee, it is the tenacity, business acumen, and commitment to excellence of groups like Duromina that have truly driven their lasting success.