Nano from Kaffevaerk

Nano Challa cooperative was founded in 2004 by 25 farmer members from the town of Agaro in Jimma area, Oromia, western Ethiopia. The founding members did this to jointly solve challenges around indebtedness, find good buyers for their coffee and improve the standard of production.
The Jimma area had become synonymous with low-quality commercial coffee that was typically sold at minimum prices.

The name Nano Challa means "area higher up" in the local language, Oromifa. It is a reference to the high-lying areas where the coffee is grown in good soil with the surrounding forest.

In 2010 Nano Challa was selected to be part of the "Technoserve Coffee Initiative" along with other isolated growing areas. Technoserve provided technical assistance and training to producer groups and help to coordinate agronomists and financial advice. All to improve quality, get debt under control, reinvest and distribute profits to all members of the cooperatives.

Since 2010, the number of members has increased to over 400 and the quality goals that were set have made their coffee one of the most sought after on the Ethiopian market. This has led to a significantly higher standard of living for farmers and their families.

The coffee is grown in areas between 1,850 and 2,100 meters above sea level on an average size of 3 hectares. The varieties grown are mostly heirloom varieties mixed with a local variety known as 1274.