We rented 200 acres of long term land from the government to grow coffee with shade trees and other seasonal, local, cash crops. This is Shwe Yi Mon Coffee Farm. We started growing coffee in 2007; some trees are now 15 years old and some are 10.

 

We now have 81,650 coffee trees, and 13,697 shade trees, so approximately six coffee trees per shade tree. We are a 100% shade farm. Our soils are red, well-draining and mildly alkaline. We build our soils constantly with compost, cow manure and mulch to feed our coffee.

 

During British colonial times, Pyin Oo Lwin was a summer capital as its weather is always cool and fine. Sitting at the top of a hill 1,150m ASL, it links the Shan mountains with the plain. Some of its names are Flower town, Hill station town, Maymyo, or May town, and Pyin Oo Lwin.

 

Here, Arabica coffee thrives in average temperatures of 20°C and 1,500mm rainfall a year. Our farm is at the edge of Mandalay, bordering northern Shan State.

 

The farm is at 1,000m ASL on the mountain side with panoramic views of the hills. Across the landscape are small villages, their fields of rice, corn, coffee, vegetables, and countless white and golden stupas.

 

As the mist in the morning rises, the sky turns red then orange, and golden light beams with the sound of birds and rural farmers on the hill slopes. It is everything we dreamed of and more. We were determined to do the right thing – plant trees and make a viable coffee farm.