Trading poppy for coffee

THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS (Japan)

Villagers in northern Thailand are savoring a rich brew of success after trading opium crops for coffee in a bid to improve their lives and halt environment destruction in the "Golden Triangle" region.

The Doi Tung Development Project, supported by the Thai Royal Family through the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, has provided a livelihood for more than 4,500 local people and is integral to the sustainable development of the area.

The villagers' annual incomes have risen by eight times what they were in their poppy-growing days.

Launched in 1989, the project covers 60 square miles, 85 percent of which has been reforested. The rest is in sustainable agriculture for the 27 villages of hill-tribe people who live in the area. Four hundred and fifty families now grow coffee.

Doi Tung coffee is 100 percent arabica. It is shade-grown for the slow ripening and handpicked so only red-ripe coffee beans will get in the mix. The harvested coffee beans are processed, sun-dried, graded, roasted, packaged and sent to markets worldwide.

The coffee has been well received in Japan and its high quality has been recognized at various tasting demonstrations.

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