Haile Gebre

Haile Gebre owns and operates two farms and a washing station under the Mordecofe name, short for ‘Mora Mora River Valley Development Coffee’. Haile grew up around coffee before entering a career in public service – from a post in the Ethiopian navy, to working for the Ministry of Land Reform, to championing cooperatives as the Governor of the Oromia region. In 2001, Haile left his government post and returned home to cultivate coffee on his family's land in the highland forests of Southern Ethiopia. He began giving seedlings out to his neighbors, betting on the future of coffee in the area.

Stumptown started purchasing coffee from Haile and Mordecofe in 2006. Today, Haile grows coffee organically on over 600 hectares of land. Mordecofe has provided smaller farmers with new seedlings and extensive education on harvesting, cherry selection, and organic agricultural practices.

"Let us grow together," is one of Mordecofe's core principles. To Haile this idea of shared growth also applies to Haile's leadership in Guji more broadly. Guji has become known for quality. Dozens of new washing stations and dry mills have been established. Several producers who were previously Mordecofe outgrowers are now processing coffee themselves. At one time all this coffee was sold under the “Sidamo” name. But now, Guji coffees have their own designation – a meaningful recognition of the work that went into the area and the exquisite coffees produced there.

Mordecofe’s strides made in quality production and organic practices are a legacy of their own – and Haile's vision for Mordecofe has expanded over the years. The organization operates a state of the art dry mill and cupping lab in Addis Ababa where coffee is processed, sorted, and stored. Stumptown is proud to partner with Haile Gebre and offer Mordecofe's exceptional coffee each year.