Timor-Leste Eratoi
Located at 1800masl, Eratoi is one of the highest altitude communities that Karst works with. The resulting cooler temperatures found at this height means coffee cherries require slightly more time to ripen so the harvest date is moderately later when compared to our lower altitude groups. Karst has now worked collaboratively with the Eratoi community for seven continuous years having first entered into partnership with lead farmer, Simao Pedro de Deus (now Karst’s field manager) in 2019. Eratoi has now become the largest group that Karst works with and as of 2025, now consists of 40 smallholder farmers each of whom diligently process their coffee in their individual households using traditional practices passed down through generations.
Rwanda Rwamatamu
Rwamatamu’s Women's Cooperative is known as the Tuzamurane mu Guhinga Kawa cooperative, which translates from Kinyarwanda to “Let’s Uplift Each Other in Coffee Farming.” The group was started in 2020 by Mukantwaza Laeticia, co-founder of Rwamatamu, to highlight and properly reward the work of women in the local community, particularly those who had long been engaged in coffee farming.
Since starting this project, the 21 members of the Women's Cooperative have received a plot of land, coffee seedlings, alongside tools and monthly training sessions in sustainable agricultural practices, pest management, and techniques to enhance crop yields.
When harvest time comes around, the coop sells their coffee to Rwamtamu, who ensures that the money earned is distributed directly to the women in equal amounts. This money can then be invested back into the farm or used personally as the members see fit.
Peru Salkantay
In September 2025 we made our second origin trip to Peru to source beans from the Huadquina Cooperative in the remote town of Santa Teresa in the Sacred Valley. The valley winds for around 60km from the ancient Incan city of Cusco into the Andean highlands. It follows the spectacular Urubamba river and is surrounded by jagged peaks that include the fearsome, snow topped mountain Salkantay (6,271m) upon whose slopes this coffee is grown. The area is still deemed sacred by many as it was once at the heart of the Incan empire and is a relatively short distance from the famous Incan ruins at Machu Picchu.
Five producers contributed to this lot all growing coffee above 2000 meters on the slopes of Mt Salkantay. All are members of the 300 member strong Huadquina Co-operative whose offices, mill and warehouse is in the sleepy town of Santa Teresa on the banks of the Rio Urubamba.
The co-operative works with over 300 producers and astonishingly most of them are producing certified organic coffees. The quality of the coffee is very high with some Cup of Excellence winners and many of the lots scoring 86+ including the coffee in this lot. This is our second year sourcing coffee direct from the Huadquina co-operative and hope it will be a relationship that will continue to thrive in the coming years.
