Coffee Picking, Processing, and Quality Management at Pulping Center Training Report

Training Context
In the Gandaki and Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipalities, coffee farming has emerged as a promising livelihood option. Despite its potential, farmers and pulper operators face challenges related to maintaining quality, managing coffee cherries, and efficiently carrying out primary coffee processing. Recognizing these challenges, AMDA-MINDS Nepal organized a comprehensive two-day training to bridge the knowledge gaps and empower local farmers and technical staff with essential skills.

The training aimed to enhance participants' technical understanding and practical skills in coffee processing, ensuring improved quality, reduced defects, and increased market readiness.

Training Overview

Location: MPMT Office, Gandaki RM, Gorkha
Dates: December 1-2, 2024
Participants: 17 attendees, including:

• 9 Coffee Pulper Operators/Farmers' Group Chairpersons/Support Personnel
• 6 Social Mobilizers (SM)
• 2 Technical Supervisors (TS)

Facilitator: Mr. Birdos Lama, a coffee processing expert

The sessions were highly interactive, featuring hands-on demonstrations, group activities, and practical exercises.

Training Content and Highlights

Day 1: December 1, 2024

• Introduction & Pre-Test: Assessing participants' baseline knowledge and collecting expectations.
• Experience Sharing: Farmers shared insights from last year's coffee pulping and marketing activities.
• Coffee Farming Practices: Discussions on current farming methods and expected production levels.
• Quality Management: Guidelines for proper cherry picking, grading, and record-keeping at the pulping center
• Processing Techniques: Practical demonstrations on dry and wet processing methods, machine setup, and pulping.
• Review and Feedback: Recap and discussions to consolidate learning.

Day 2: December 2, 2024

• Fermentation Techniques: Methods for checking and washing parchment coffee post-fermentation.
• Drying Techniques: Steps for pre-drying, medium drying, and final drying to maintain quality.
• Coffee Cycle Overview: Understanding the journey from seed to cup.
• Packaging & Storage: Tips on proper labeling, transportation, and storage of parchment coffee.
• Cost Analysis: Estimating production costs from cherry to parchment, including labor, electricity, water, packaging, and calculating profit
• Market Price Determination: Understanding pricing mechanisms for coffee and NTCDB role
• Pulper Operator Responsibilities: Clarifications on roles, Strategies for addressing farmers' immediate cash requirements for fresh coffee, Recording financial transactions accurately
• Feedback & Assessment: Participant queries, evaluation of learning outcomes from posttest , and Training closure

Achievements and Key Outputs

• Participants processed coffee cherries into parchment, gaining a thorough understanding of:

• Pulping and fermentation techniques.
• Drying and storing processes to ensure quality

• Participants learned to identify and reduce defects such as inconsistent moisture levels, improper outer skin removal, and discoloration.

"This training taught me how small changes in processing can make a big difference in coffee quality. I am eager to implement these techniques in my coffee pulping center ." – Kalpana Rana , Coffee pulper operator, Tinmane, Sahid Lakhan RM

• Participants acquired the ability to roast and brew coffee using local tools, adding value to their production chain.

"For the first time, I feel confident managing coffee processing. I look forward to sharing these skills with my community."

Follow-Up Plan

• Monitoring Visits: Staff need to be ensured participants implement their skills effectively.
• Continued Technical Support: Guidance for troubleshooting and process optimization by staff
• Community Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging participants to share learnings to other farmers at regular meeting

Conclusion

The training successfully addressed the critical gaps in coffee processing knowledge and skills. It empowered participants with the tools needed to enhance quality, reduce defects, and increase profitability. This initiative marks a significant step toward creating self-reliant, skilled coffee farmers and pulper operators in Gandaki and Sahid Lakhan RMs.

The focus will now shift to supporting participants in applying their learnings, monitoring their progress, and fostering a collaborative environment for coffee processing.