Himalayan Rural Organic Coffee Growers Welfare Association

Our office is at Plot No-263 on T. V. K Road in Ammapet, which is really close to the railway station. The Himalayan Rural Organic Coffee Growers Welfare Association is essentially a group of us looking out for the interests of the people who grow coffee in the rural hills. Even though our office is down here in Ammapet, our hearts and work are tied to the coffee farms. We spend a lot of time on the phone or meeting with growers to talk about organic methods and how to get a fair price for the beans. The office is usually cluttered with samples of green coffee beans and stacks of paperwork from different farms. It’s not a very fancy place, just some desks and chairs where we can sit down and talk. You can often hear the trains from the station nearby, which reminds us of how the coffee gets moved around. We aren't some big corporate entity; we’re just an association trying to help small farmers stay afloat. Sometimes the work is slow and frustrating, but when we see a successful crop come through, it feels worth it. We deal with the basics of organic certification and helping growers understand the market. It’s a lot of coordination and simple communication. We don't have a big marketing budget, so we mostly rely on the growers talking to each other. If you're in the neighborhood, the smell of coffee is usually a good sign you’ve found us. We just keep working away at it day by day.