Villagers return to coffee farming

Villagers at Kampung Kiau Nuluh harvest coffee beans. - Pic courtesy of Mount Kinabalu Coffee

KOTA BELUD: Villagers at Kampung Kiau Nuluh are turning to coffee-farming after realising its high commodity value.

Mount Kinabalu Coffee founder Hanteh Ginsos, 35, said the village, which is located at the foot of Mount Kinabalu, has proved to others that the Arabica coffee beans that his family harvests brings more profit than other type of crops.

"About 50 years ago, almost 65 per cent of the villagers planted coffee trees at the village, but stopped as they found it to be difficult to sell at that time.

"It left my family being the sole coffee planter at the village which my parents still looked after while going out hunting," he told the New Straits Times.

When Hanteh established the Mount Kinabalu Coffee last year, he also wanted the social enterprise to encourage more villagers to follow suit with the hope that the commodity would give them a side income and eradicate poverty.

Apart from other agriculture products, most of the villagers work as guides in the tourism industry.

He is glad that after a year, he has managed to inspire about 30 families to plant coffee trees again.

"By planting coffee, they can yield between RM20 and RM30 per kilogram of green beans which is tenfold more than other crops such as rubber, which is about RM3 for a kilogramme.

"If those beans are roasted, the price is even higher, as it can be sold at almost RM50 per 250 grammes.

"It is undeniable that Arabica coffee beans have high value, it is just that people have to know how to market it," he said, adding that farmers could have an annual harvest after planting the trees for two years on the highland.

Not only that, prior to Sabah shutting its borders to international tourists, Hanteh managed to bring in almost 100 tourists from 10 countries to a farmstay and experience the "crop-to-cup" process at the village early last year.

"Tourists are able to have the experience of harvesting, processing, roasting and brewing their coffee throughout the recommended two-day-one-night stay.

"It is supposed to be an all-year-long tourism product, except harvesting is only between October and December," he said.

Hanteh is now selling his coffee beans and brewed coffee online at https://aramaitica.com/ and through the GrabFood mobile application.