Duromina Cooperative sits in the yellowed highlands of the Goma District in the Oromia Region of Western Ethiopia. Farmers cultivate coffee in small plots near their homes and on densely shaded hillsides. Coffee has been cultivated here for generations, but prior to 2011, it was all dry processed and sold to local traders at a low rate.

Duromina, which means ‘improve their lives’ in the Afan Oromo language, was formed in 2010 by farmers who wanted to do just that. Immediately thereafter, they received a loan from the bank, constructed a wet mill, and began processing washed coffee. From Stumptown's purchases in 2011, Duromina paid off their entire washing station loan in just one year, rather than the anticipated four years.

It’s a 30-hour trip to get to the remote Agaro district of the Jimma zone. A six hour van ride through lush green mountains ends at the village, where our Coffee Sourcing team often enjoys traditional Ethiopian feasts of goat. The soil there is a bright red-orange and stains everything. One of our sourcing team members reports that after he got back, he washed his black t-shirt twice, and it’s still just as orange as when they left the village.