How a tiny Indian village brewed up a coffee revolution

The Marayoor-Kanthalloor region in Kerala is known for many things, including aromatic sandalwood forests, sprawling tea plantations, sugarcane fields, and fruit orchards. But have you heard of Keezhanthoor coffee, named after the small village about 40 km north of Munnar that cultivates it?

In late 2023, Keezhanthoor coffee took centre stage at the fifth  World Coffee Conference, hosted for the first time in India. With over 20,000 participants from more than 80 countries, the event's theme of 'Sustainability through Circular Economy and Regenerative Agriculture' provided the perfect platform for this unique brew.

Situated at 1,500 meters above sea level on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, Keezhanthoor boasts an ideal climate for coffee cultivation. The average temperature ranges from 23°C to 28°C, and annual rainfall falls between 150 cm and 200 cm. The region experiences a dry spell lasting 70 to 90 days. Despite coffee's inherent resistance to pests and diseases, Keezhanthoor tells a story of a community overcoming great odds to produce globally recognised coffee.

‍Field notes

Coffee production in Keezhanthoor dates back at least a century, according to V.V. Paranthaman, a village senior who has worked in coffee fields since childhood. For most of his lifetime, coffee and paddy were the main crops in the village. “Paddy was always grown only in small landholdings in our village for local consumption,” he said. When farmers tried to market it, middlemen reaped the most profits. Combined with changing weather patterns, paddy quickly became unprofitable. “We didn’t want to make the same mistake with coffee,” he added.

Over time, the paddy fields made way for Arecanut trees and sugarcane farms, which later gave rise to small industries producing jaggery. The remaining paddy fields were turned into fruit and vegetable farms. Among other fruits, Kanthalloor now produces apples, oranges, cabbage, and cauliflowers, making it the only region in Kerala to grow these cold-weather crops.

Coffee is an easy crop to grow. It is resistant to pests and thrives in the shade, allowing it to be grown alongside other crops and in forested regions. The plants do not require regular manuring, and the weed needs to be cleared only once every few months, which is then deposited back as natural fertiliser. When the coffee beans ripen, they occasionally attract monkeys, civets, and even elephants. “With no permanent solution to the animal attacks, we have made peace with these visits,” said Kumaravel Mannadiyil, who maintains a 1.5-acre coffee farm. Despite their hardy nature, coffee plants are susceptible to two things: unpredictable rain and unscrupulous middlemen.

Changing rain patterns

The region used to experience a unique phenomenon known as Noolmazha, thread-thin raindrops exclusive to certain areas (e.g. Wayanad) in the Western Ghats. The raindrops are thread-thin, like spun in a spinning wheel, also giving it the name ‘40 Number Rain’ (No. 40 yarn is generally thinner and finer). Noolmazha lasted for parts of the summer monsoon and helped coffee plants grow well. It kept things cool enough for the coffee flowers to turn into beans without getting ruined by heavy downpours. However, farmers from both regions have noted that Noolmazha has disappeared almost entirely.

“While it is still early to say whether there is a major change in the annual rainfall in Kerala, it is noticed that the number of rainy days is fewer in a year, leading to heavier rains during a short period,” said YEA Raj, retired director general of the India Meteorological Department. 

As coffee is not grown in conventional farming fields, it depends entirely on rain. The timing, intensity, and duration of rainfall are crucial. “If the rain does not favour us in a year, then the production from a single coffee plant can fall from an average of 10 kilos to as low as 3 kilos,” said Kumaravel.

For Keezhanthoor, coffee has become a crucial source of livelihood. Of the 240 families in Keezhanthoor, around 200 cultivate coffee as their primary crop, each holding between one and three acres of land. In a good year, they yield up to 8,000 kgs per acre.

Small-scale farmers lack the resources and networks to find optimal buyers or access markets to sell their harvest. Until the early 2000s, the Kanthalloor co-operative bank supported the farmers by directly collecting the crop and ensuring a fair price, including a bonus later if the crop was sold for a considerably higher price. However, the bank withdrew from that role, forcing coffee farmers to rely on middlemen for more than a decade. 

If the rain does not favour us in a year, then the production from a single coffee plant can fall from an average of 10 kilos to as low as 3 kilos

Turning point

In 2014, the Manarcadu Social Service Society (MASS), a cooperative group committed to Fairtrade and organic products, stepped in. MASS revitalized the local procurement process. Under the cooperative bank and middlemen, Keezhanthoor coffee had little to no marketing. Now, the coffee processed by MASS is marketed and exported by Plantich, an agribusiness company in Kerala. Annually, approximately 60 tons of Keezhanthoor coffee are exported worldwide, primarily to Canada, the USA, and Germany.

Before 2014, farmers had to dry and extract seeds from coffee fruits before selling them to the lone cooperative bank or middlemen. The process was challenging as the harvest occurs in November and December, when heavy mist and fog make drying and seed extraction difficult. Now, the cooperative transports the fruits to its center in Andipatty, a hotter region in Tamil Nadu, for drying and seed extraction in a factory. MASS also provides the farmers with organic fertilisers like cow dung, oil cakes (punakku), and lime powder (kummayam). “Despite the challenges, we did not resort to using chemical fertilisers,” said Kumaravel.

As climate change continues to threaten agricultural yields, sustained support from organisations like MASS is vital for the resilience of small-scale farming communities. The story of Keezhanthoor coffee serves as a reminder of the power of cooperation and adaptability in the face of environmental and economic challenges.