About 50 km from the center of Lam Dong province, Dung K'no commune (old) has a total natural area of nearly 19,860 hectares, of which more than 90% is forest land. Over 94% of the population here are K'Ho ethnic people living with coffee as the main crop. About 10 years ago, the Arabica Lac Duong coffee brand was granted to a number of organizations and individuals who met the prescribed conditions, then expanded throughout the entire old Lac Duong district - as a way to affirm the prestige and position of the Arabica coffee brand for the domestic market in particular, and for the international market in general.
Of the nearly 4,000 hectares of coffee in the old Lac Duong district, Dung K'no commune has a total area of over 900 hectares with an average output of over 400 tons of green beans. People have mainly lived on growing coffee since 1996 with traditional farming methods, mainly fertilizing with manure, limiting the use of chemical ingredients.
That is also the main reason why, despite the low productivity, the Arabica coffee beans in the Dung K'no mountains are still plump, have a distinctive, rich flavor, unforgettable aftertaste and are especially suitable for making high-quality Arabica coffee.
One of the pioneers who created the Coffee K'no brand in this place is Mr. Phi Sron Ha Pol (K'no 1 village). Born and raised on this land, having the opportunity to study and return to contribute to his homeland, from his heart, Mr. Ha Pol cherished the idea of creating a separate brand for coffee beans that are associated with the childhood of many children like him.
According to Mr. Ha Pol, in the past, farmers mainly produced and sold fresh coffee and green coffee to some local traders. At that time, the method of caring for coffee was still old-fashioned, following the habits and conditions of each family. The quality of coffee beans was also uneven, leading to frequent low quality assessments and price pressures. Later, some companies came to and highly appreciated the raw material area in Dung K'no, they started to guide farmers on more standard coffee growing processes, care, and harvesting methods. Thanks to that, coffee production activities of people in the commune have become more and more organized.
“One of the factors that makes K'no coffee special is that this land is 90% covered by natural forest, the average altitude above sea level is over 1,500 m, the average rainfall is over 2,000 mm, the rain is distributed from April to January of the following year, and there is fog all year round. Favorable natural conditions, cool climate, and fertile soil of a pristine land have produced coffee beans that are not only rich but also preserve the resilient spirit and the simplicity of the indigenous Cil people,” said Ha Pol.
Each coffee bean is hand-picked by farmers on steep hillsides, then goes through a traditional processing process: sun-drying or natural fermentation, then roasted using modern technology, ensuring uniformity and preserving all layers of aroma. And in the houses, there are images of the whole family from the elderly to the young sitting diligently selecting each coffee bean to remove bad beans, picking out stones... These are things that have never appeared in this remote countryside.
“Each cup of coffee carries a story, a slice of the mountains and forests,” said Mr. Ha Quynh, owner of the IQ Bidoup Coffee brand. Like K'n Coffee, IQ Bidoup Coffee has been nurtured by Mr. Ha Quynh since the very first days, under the green pine canopy. On his family's 3-hectare area, Mr. Ha Quynh grows organically with all his love for the red basalt soil of the Central Highlands. Although it is just a start and the annual processing output is not high, when it is welcomed by customers, the joy of the brothers seems to be added every day.
In addition to diligently researching coffee processing and roasting methods, they also focus on building a brand and spreading the message about K'no coffee to customers across the country. Up to now, both products have been recognized by the People's Committee of the old Lac Duong district as meeting 3-star OCOP standards. Through many different channels, each coffee bean from the hills of K'no has followed customers to the markets of developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, etc.
These days, the mist still covers the land and people of K'no, but in the heart of each person is nurturing better plans. The distance from K'no to the commune center is not far anymore. From there, the dream of coffee makers in K'no will be more and more complete, more favorable in contributing to building the position of Vietnamese coffee in the market.
Red Rose
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/nguoi-k-ho-lam-ca-phe-tu-nui-doi-k-no-381421.html
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