story
garutembi
～The path to coffee beans～
January 2017.
At that time, I was on a crab fishing boat on the Oki Islands.
I want to meet a minority somewhere in the world,
I wrote down the minorities in the world on paper and made a lottery.
Ethiopia's ethnic minorities were there.
I know nothing about Ethiopia.
But let's go anyway.
Galitebe started from there.
Galitebe is the Banna language for a person who has successfully completed the coming-of-age ceremony. The name given to me when I first went to the Banna village. I don't even have a ceremony of coming of age, but I always visit the Banna tribe under the common name Galitebe.
Have you ever seen a world without clocks and letters?
Villagers start farming and household chores at dawn, and the day ends at dusk. They have little money or things in their daily lives, and live with their families and grow their own food.
Intrigued, I managed to procure a tent in Ethiopia, set up a tent in a Banna village, and get close to their lives.
As I spent time with them, their simple everyday life was very attractive and stimulating, and I fell in love with the life of the Banna tribe from the bottom of my heart.
My interest in the Banna tribe made me want to know more about Ethiopia.
And as I got to know Ethiopia, I fell in love with the country.
I want to spread such attractive Ethiopian culture and things to the world! I came to think so.
How to spread Ethiopian culture and life
When I go abroad, I usually spend 24 hours with my local friends.
When I was living in Ethiopia with my Ethiopian friends, coffee was part of their lives.
Many coffee-producing countries do not drink much coffee in their own countries. After all, coffee is a commodity.
However, Ethiopia is a “coffee-loving nation” that consumes about half of the coffee it produces.
After breakfast and lunch, I always drink coffee and relax with my friends.
Coffee is an important communication tool for the people of Ethiopia, and an essential part of their lives.
I felt that "time to drink coffee" is the best culture that Ethiopia is proud of.
I wanted to spread this culture to the world through Ethiopian coffee.
From there, I thought that I had to learn about coffee before my next trip to Ethiopia, so I accumulated as much knowledge about coffee as possible.
And the second Ethiopia. While I was gathering information on the ground and wondering which region of the beans to buy, I met a person from Kafa. It's not like he's in the coffee-related business, but every time I met him, he spoke passionately about his passion and feelings for Kafa, and finally I went to Kapha.
After visiting some washing stations, I had a thought.
"Don't decide on quality or price, let's decide on the personality of the owner."
I felt that no matter how high the quality and the price was, if the owner's personality and the atmosphere of the workplace were not good, we would not be able to continue the transaction.
Realize unprecedented quality and trade continuously at a fair price that both parties can agree on.
At the same time, I want them to feel a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in their work.
There are many people in Ethiopia who are working hard to produce, but have not had the opportunity to export until now.
Galitebe wants to deal directly with such people! I met Denkaram when I was investigating while thinking.
He had never exported coffee and had zero knowledge of exporting.
Even though I was a total stranger and suddenly proposed that I want to do something with Ethiopia, he understood me and immediately said, "I want to do it together!"
We hit it off, and I made a quick decision to make a deal with Denkaram.
In October 2018, Galitebe's first import was successful.
January 2019
It's been about a year since I started trading with Denkaram.
Galitebe has become a bit of a rumor in the Kaffa region.
Then, from three new owners
I received a voice saying "I want you to handle it too!"
We toured each washing station, forest and farm and talked a lot.
So I decided to do business with a new person named Habtam.
The reason is, of course, his personality, but the atmosphere of the workplace was so relaxed that it was like being with his family.
I want to start trading when I visit his washing station for the first time! I felt strongly.
By the way, he had never exported his own coffee either.
And spend a year to fully understand Galitebe,
Succeeded in maximizing quality.
The coffee beans far exceeded expectations were made.
In addition, the Japanese side implemented crowdfunding to import as many coffee beans as possible.
As a result, we received a lot of support that exceeded the target amount.
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
Crowdfunding at the time
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/224203
～What is Galitebe coffee?～
Now, let's get down to the topic of coffee beans.
How exactly do you improve the quality of your coffee beans?
・From a mix of forest and garden to only coffee from the forest
→ To prevent changes in taste and quality due to ratio
・For the work of picking and picking red fruits instead of repelling blue fruits
→To minimize defective beans and contamination as much as possible and eliminate miscellaneous taste
・From asphalt bed (patio) to African bed
→ To prevent asphalt odor
・From 2 times to 3 times of hand picking
→ Promoting local employment + 10% or less contamination rate at the discretion of the company
And many more.
Instead of introducing new machines and such, refine what has been done so far.
Galitebe Quality brings out 100% of the original taste of coffee beans.
No matter how hard Ethiopia produces coffee,
It is common to bring it to a public institution and have it purchased.
If you bring it there, it will be mixed with other coffee beans and fluctuate at a cheap price.
However, I don't have the opportunity to meet importers directly as much as the coffee farmers in the countryside.
Galitebe goes to such a place with his own feet and negotiates directly.
From there, we work together to improve quality and support export operations.
in Ethiopia
It leads to employment promotion, so that coffee made hard can be traded at a fair price.
in the world
So that you can drink the highest quality Ethiopian coffee that you have never had before with peace of mind every day.
We will create an environment where both producers and consumers can appreciate each other.
Galitebe is the bridge between them.
