Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the opening of Gateway Coorg, a serene retreat nestled in the heart of Karnataka’s coffee country.
Enveloped by lush rainforests and scenic trails, Gateway Coorg features 55 spacious rooms and suites that reflect the tranquillity of their natural surroundings. Guests can indulge in regional and global flavours at Ghat’s Café, unwind at Coorg Cellar, or sip artisanal blends at the Coffee Lounge. The resort is a haven for food enthusiasts, with a menu that showcases the bold flavours of traditional Kodava cuisine alongside contemporary favourites. Wellness and recreation are integral to the experience with a spa, outdoor swimming pool, and a fully equipped fitness centre.
Often referred to as the ‘Scotland of India,’ Coorg’s rolling hills and coffee estates offer a beautiful backdrop for exploration.
With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have 26 hotels in Karnataka including 13 under development.
This summer was bitter for many homes in Kodagu. Their wells almost dried up before the monsoon broke. But 47-year-old Suraj Ajjikuttira in south Kodagu didn’t have to worry.
His recharge well, probably the first one in hilly Kodagu, ensured that his open well had ample water during the dry season.
Buoyed by his success, Ajjikuttira made it his mission to spread his knowledge of harvesting rain through videos, workshops and meetings. People can even phone and ask him. As a result, awareness is spreading and the recharge well is increasing in popularity. Kodagu now has at least 40 to 50 recharge wells.
Ajjikuttira’s interest in rainwater harvesting began two decades ago, when his 50-foot well, dug in 1979, started going dry. By 2002 he thought he had no option but to dig a bore well for drinking water. Then, fortuitously, he participated in a seminar on rainwater harvesting in Mysore. He picked up the nuances of groundwater recharge very quickly.
Ajjikuttira went home determined to apply his newly acquired knowledge by recharging his bore well. He dug a 10-foot-deep mini well around it. After filling up the mini well with aggregate matter, he diverted run-off from the nearby area into his bore well. The next year itself, the water level in his bore well rose considerably.
“That convinced me about the efficacy of groundwater recharge,” reminisces Ajjikuttira. He doubled his efforts and started a serious attempt to catch all the rainwater he could on his estate. He turned his attention to rainwater falling on his roof, on the vast frontage of his home and the adjoining coffee-drying yard or ‘kana’.
Earlier, all this water used to disappear into a drain. Ajjikuttira now ensured that all run-off got collected at one spot and then flowed out. A leaf separator was attached at the exit point to prevent leaves from clogging this stream of water.
The usual custom is to make a rain pit for such run-off to percolate. But, in this case, the water that was flowing was excessive. After racking his brains, Ajjikuttira dug a recharge well, five feet in diameter, to catch this water. He placed concrete rings along the inner walls of the well 12 feet deep, to prevent its walls from collapsing. The diameter was then reduced. Another six to eight feet were dug and filled with stones to firm up the second stage of the recharge well.
Suraj Ajjikuttira near a large tank which now collects rainwater
Consequently, rainwater collected from about 1,500 square feet of space goes straight into Ajjikuttira’s recharge well and is fully absorbed there. “At the most we get one inch of rain per day. I have designed the recharge well in such a way that even this one inch of water is captured,” he explains. The water that is percolating is estimated to be around two lakh litres.
Ajjikuttira’s well was 42 feet deep when his father got it dug in 1979. In 1994, when the well dried up, it was deepened by another eight feet and eight rings were fixed on its walls. After that the well never dried up. Even during the 2016 drought, Ajjikuttira’s well had eight feet of water. Last year, when wells dried up in Kodagu, Ajjikuttira’s well had 11 feet of water.
The recharge well is a new concept invented in Chennai in the 1990s. Later, the idea was embraced by residents of Bengaluru. The city now probably has around 50,000 recharge wells. The sole purpose of the recharge well is to recharge groundwater. The well can be very small in diameter, as low as three feet.
COFFEE AND RAIN
Kodagu district’s main crop is coffee. Coffee plants are rain-fed. The first showers or ‘blossom showers’, received in February and March, are very important for coffee farmers. If it doesn’t rain at this time, farmers have to pump up water from tanks and sprinkle or irrigate the plants.
After the blossom showers are over, coffee plants require a second spell of irrigation within 15 to 20 days. These showers are called ‘back-up’ showers. If the rains fail to arrive then farmers who still have water do a second round of sprinkling.
The water in Ajjikuttira’s tank was hardly sufficient for even one round of irrigation. About 200 metres away from his tank is a huge seven-acre tank called Katibetta Kere. This water body belongs to the revenue department. It has a catchment of around 500 acres. But the tank’s bund had breached in one area and it wasn’t retaining water. Ajjikuttira built a check dam with sand bags in the catchment area so that the tank would retain water and help his own tank absorb some water.
Katibetta Kere is at a higher elevation than Ajjikuttira’s irrigation tank. Subsequently, the department built a concrete check dam for Katibetta Kere. Recalls a happy Ajjikuttira, “Since then, this tank has enhanced water availability in my own tank. Now, even if we do three rounds of irrigation, the tank still has water.”
Rainfall figures differ across Kodagu district. Ajjikuttira’s place receives 54 inches — coffee planters still measure rain in inches — whereas not-so-distant Virajapet gets 70 inches. Wetlands here are dwindling and so is forest cover. Due to various reasons, water availability is worsening in the district. Unfortunately, awareness about rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge is abysmally low.
Once Ajjikuttira succeeded in augmenting water availability in his estate, he started spreading the idea of water harvesting. In the last 15 years, he has conducted more than 300 awareness sessions on rainwater harvesting in schools, government departments, workshops for citizens and so on.
“In most Kodagu estates, the house is located at a higher level. In the past, the yard for drying coffee beans and paddy used to be built near the paddy fields in a lower area. But due to security reasons the yard is now constructed close to the house. So the typical house would have a large area in front with a drying yard close to it. This entire stretch is either built with concrete or lined with interlocking tiles. So a huge amount of clean water flows on this surface,” says Ajjikuttira.
“We need a structure that can hold this run-off and make it percolate fast. I experimented with the recharge well. Although it is expensive, it does the job efficiently.”
Ajjikuttira is approached by people on the phone or in person for guidance in harvesting rainwater. “If we make arrangements to catch all the run-off from the front area and the drying yard, summer rains alone will ensure the well doesn’t dry up,” he says confidently. A recharge well costs approximately Rs 60,000-70,000.
Ajjikuttira carries out a simple test to check whether the bore well can be artificially recharged. A few barrels of water are kept nearby and poured into the bore well one after another. If the bore well overflows, it indicates that it won’t absorb water and recharge. The idea is then abandoned.
SPREADING AWARENESS
Ajjikuttira has put together a three-part video to spread knowledge on rainwater harvesting in Kodagu. Uploaded on YouTube, it tells people how to use rainwater directly, how to recharge defunct and working bore wells and how to use a recharge well for groundwater recharge.
After taking advice from Ajjikuttira, Tej Thammaiah Ajjikuttira constructed a recharge well 10 feet in diameter and 22 feet deep last year. The well is a big one because Thammaiah’s bungalow, front yard and ‘kana’ spread to about a hectare. The well has cost him Rs 130,000.
Thammaiah’s open well, 60 feet deep, didn’t dry up completely. But by the end of summer it would have only four to five feet of water. Last summer it had 30 feet of water because he followed in Ajjikuttira’s footsteps.
Rakshith of Sulagodu is another estate owner who sought Ajjikuttira’s advice. He has an open well which is 100 feet deep. It used to dry up in summer and he found it difficult even to provide water to his labourers. He built a recharge well which cost him Rs 70,000. Two years later his water woes are over.
“Now I have water up to 25 feet,” he says. “By the end of summer, water levels recede by seven to eight feet. I don’t have to worry about drinking water for many decades to come.”
Soil in Kodagu collapses very easily. Ajjikuttira has noticed that many people dig a recharge pit quite close to the well. “This is highly risky. Many wells have collapsed because pits were dug very close to them. It’s always better to locate the pits about 15 or 20 feet away,” he warns.
He points out that each estate is endowed with expansive areas from where water can be easily harvested. “The shifting of the drying yard from lower areas near paddy fields to the area adjoining the house in an elevated area has also caused water scarcity in open wells. This is because we cement all these areas and never permit water to percolate.” Planters who have realised this are taking corrective measures to allow for percolation.
Coffee estates require huge quantities of water for irrigation to induce flower blossoming. “There are several earthen tanks or keres in Kodagu. You can see these tanks on Google earth. But, unlike the old days, tanks are dug unscientifically. The selection of the site should be such that we can divert streams of water into it. Many new tanks don’t have this.”
Another important groundwater recharge structure in these estates is a legacy of British planters called ‘thottilu gundi’ or cradle pits, so called because of the shape. Thottilu gundis were systematically and periodically dug and cleaned amidst rows of coffee. They would convert surface run-off from the hills into sub-soil seepage that would reach the tank after many months. “Due to the high cost of labour and poor labour availability, many of us have bid goodbye to digging of this very useful system,” laments Ajjikuttira.
Contact Suraj Ajjikuttira at 9901012970
source: http://www.civilsocietyonline.com / Civil Society / Home> Environment / by Shree Padre, Kodagu / August 29th, 2019 (updated December 03rd, 2020)
Venugopal in a pepper garden where, with his advice, yields have increased
Dr Madhugiri Narayana Rao Venugopal, a scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), was living a retired life when a farmer urged him to share his immense knowledge with people who needed it.
Dr Venugopal then stepped in to not just help but also play a transformative role by showing how pepper could be profitably grown on coffee and areca nut plantations. He began travelling 12 to 15 days a month across five districts in Karnataka. With his guidance, farmers have been able to increase their yield and income. He has also helped farmers set up gene banks and improve the quality of plants.
In return for all his help, Venugopal expects nothing from the farmers. He is a humble man and says that his pension is enough for his family. But the farmers have always felt indebted. So, when he fell seriously ill in 2015, farmers contributed to pay the hospital bill.
Below is a piece that appeared in Civil Society’s September-October 2017 edition. Read on.
In the sleepy villages of Sirsi in Karnataka an economic revolution is taking place. In just four years, farmers have tripled their income by growing pepper, the king of spices. Word of pepper’s potential has spread to five districts of Karnataka — Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Chikmagalore, Hassan and Kodagu — and here too farmers are making money by growing the black spice.
The man behind this silent transformation is 68-year-old Dr Madhugiri Narayana Rao Venugopal, a retired ICAR scientist, affectionately called ‘Pepper Doctor’. By assiduously sharing his knowledge with farmers he has increased their yield of pepper by three to four times.
Dr Venugopal was born in Madhugiri in Tumkur district, the eighth child of Narayana Rao and his wife, Seethamma. In 1977 he joined the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute at Kasargod. He retired in 2009 after 32 years of service from the Regional Research Station of the Indian Institute of Spices Research, Madikeri, as its Principal Scientist and Head. By then he was an acknowledged expert in crops like arecanut, coconut, pepper, ginger, turmeric and cardamom.
Venugopal built a house in Mysore and was looking forward to a quiet life with his family. A few months into retirement, he was invited to a farmers meet in Madikeri. Ravi Ganapathy, a farmer, struck up a conversation with him. “You are a man of immense knowledge,” he said. “Transfer your learning to those who need it instead of killing it.”
His words got Venugopal thinking. He decided he would spend his time helping the farming community. Venugopal began attending meetings of farmers and he didn’t miss a single opportunity to address them. By now he must have attended around 1,300 such meetings. “All I needed was Rs 250 for travel,” he remarks. Alongside Venugopal began identifying farming clusters that could increase their yield of pepper to more than 1,000 tonnes annually.
Why did he choose pepper? “There is money in pepper,” he says. “Coffee growers contend with white stem borer. Arecanut farmers worry about over-production and tea planters have high overheads. Pepper production is stagnant but farmers are keen to increase their income. What they lacked is guidance and adequate planting material,” he explains.
A handful of pepper
“Dr Venugopal has been coming often to our taluka since 2012. At that time, our pepper production was around 75 to 80 tonnes. Now it has reached 300 to 320 tonnes. Within the next two to three years, we will be producing 800 to 900 tonnes,” says Mahabaleshwar B.S., Assistant Director of Horticulture, Siddapura, in Uttara Kannada district.
In the 10 years since he retired, Dr Venugopal has probably achieved more than in the 30 years he worked for the government. Not only has he tripled the income of farmers he has forged deep bonds with them, giving rise to a new model of farmer-scientist relations.
“Scientists use power point presentations to train farmers. But cut and paste guidance isn’t enough. What works for pepper plants in an arecanut garden won’t suit pepper growing on a coffee farm. Scientists should demonstrate their learning on farmers’ fields. Otherwise no cultivation package will succeed,” he says.
In India pepper is cultivated as a mixed crop with arecanut, coffee and tea, unlike in Vietnam, the world leader in pepper production, where it is a mono-crop. “Pepper doesn’t require much space or irrigation. With the right agronomic practices we can augment production phenomenally,” says Venugopal. In another two years Karnataka will produce 65,000 tonnes of pepper or all the pepper India consumes, he says.
BONDING IN CLUSTERS
Dr Venugopal travels at least 12 to 15 days in a month. The farms are not very near. A visit to Sirsi, which is nearly 1,000 km away, requires an overnight journey. He travels by bus and train. In fact, he admonishes farmers if they offer him special attention and happily stays in their homes. What’s more, he doesn’t accept a single rupee for his services.
“My pension is enough for my family”, he says. “I don’t take any money from small farmers. I receive a consultation fee from big farmers that I use for small farmers. They arrange food, bus charges and accommodation, if required.”
Farmers have been encouraged to set up gene bank and nurseries
The first time Venugopal visits a new garden, he enquires how many pepper vines it has. If the number is less, he suggests the farmer plant more. “I tell them this is your yield potential. I ask them if they are ready to achieve a production of 300 to 400 kg per acre with 100 vines. It is not difficult. If the farmer agrees, I advise him from time to time. I also put forth one condition — farmers should implement 80 per cent of my recommendations and inform me. Otherwise, I don’t go there again.” Of course, there are defaulters — as many as six out of 10!
He also has a clear strategy. First, Venugopal identifies clusters that can grow 1,000 tonnes of pepper. Next he finds key farmers — those who are opinion leaders and can share knowledge. He has so far identified 14 clusters in five districts stretching from coastal zones up to an altitude of 1,200 metres with rainfall from 30 to 300 inches.
“After assessing rainfall, soil and so on we can evaluate in general the problems being faced by farmers. But we can’t provide the same advice to the entire state,” he says. In each cluster, Venugopal develops a demonstration plot in the garden of a key farmer. In Uttara Kannada district he has developed three demonstration plots — in Gadikai, Neernalli and Chavatti.
In a way, the clusters act as relay centres of his recommendations. Whenever there is the possibility of a pest attack or quick wilt disease, he alerts the clusters over phone which, in turn, alert their communities. Pepper farmers have formed groups on WhatsApp and they also have organisations. So a lively exchange of information takes place. In the Siddapur taluka alone there are eight such groups. The Sirsi taluka has 10 groups. “In the past, no farmer discussed his pepper farming experiences. Now no development remains uncirculated,” remarks Mahabaleshwar.
Venugopal communicates very carefully. So he doesn’t offer advice over phone when he is travelling. At home, he receives 15 to 30 calls every day from pepper farmers. If it’s a very special case, like a call from a farmer in the northeast wanting to replace rubber with pepper, he suggests a team visit suitable plots and he facilitates training. In a year six to eight such study teams arrive to undergo training.
“Our garden becomes his. He keeps tabs on our agricultural practices and guides us. He takes up all our farming worries. But the income accrues to us,” says Chavatti Shridhara Bhat, a farmer in Sirsi. “When he visits our farms, he is always the leader and we are happy to follow. He even interacts with our workers. Whenever he finds an improved pepper variety, he takes pains to distribute it to all farmers. Varieties from the northeast have been brought here. Our varieties have gone there. Venugopal is like a friend or relative for us.”
Walking past pepper vines followed by farmers
THE RIGHT RESEARCH
The most popular variety of pepper here is Panniyur-1. Pepper growing regions have millions of this variety. But it has a peculiar problem. During its spike formation stage, if there isn’t enough light, the plant produces only female flowers instead of bisexual ones. Laughs Venugopal, “Panniyur-1 is naughty but also a champion. We have had to change production technology because Panniyur-1 is planted very extensively.”
With early irrigation and by preponing flowering, farmers can ensure there is adequate light for a good crop. This is recent acquired research which is being widely disseminated.
A farmer in Somavarpet had been harvesting 28 tonnes of pepper from 38 acres. One year his pepper vines were attacked by quick wilt disease and he got no yield. He discovered that the disease had originated in his neighbour’s garden. Scientists advised him to start control measures from the neighbouring garden. That worked and even after 26 years his vines are healthy. But his neighbour’s vines turned sick and had to be replanted. “The acid test of any experiment is in farmers’ fields,” says Venugopal.
One reason most arecanut farmers were wary about growing pepper is its frequent mass mortality. If there is uninterrupted rain for a few weeks, the dreaded quick wilt disease invariably wipes out vines. Farmers were under the impression that vines have to be constantly replanted to be free of quick wilt. But this fear has considerably declined due to Venugopal’s advice.
THE GENE BANKS
An important prerequisite for pepper development is quality planting material. Throughout his career Venugopal noted that most saplings didn’t measure up. Some had symptoms of nematode, others were infected with phytophthera fungus or virus. Very few nurseries raised healthy planting material.
To overcome this problem, Venugopal insists that every cluster create its own gene bank. Three gene banks have already started in the districts of Sirsi, Shimoga and Hassan. Research and nurseries should go hand in hand is Venugopal’s motto. He has also trained farmers and nurseries to produce pepper plants locally. Today there are 58 farmer-owned nurseries.
The problem with planting material is that only one variety and production technology is promoted whereas the Western Ghat region contains great varietal diversity. Karnataka has 14 documented varieties. Kerala has over 70. “In some areas, we don’t want champions. We need all-rounders — cultivars less susceptible to disease, less sensitive, even if the yield is moderate,” he says.
With this objective Venugopal arranged a nine-day varietal selection process in pepper gardens three years ago. “We selected 17 varieties in Uttara Kannada. In an area where all pepper vines had died, we found a variety called Tirupugere. Both Okkalu and Kari Malligesara varieties fetch Rs 80 more per kg in the local market. Nine out of 17 local cultivars are quite promising and deserve to get geographical identification,” he says.
Take the case of Okkalu. Chavatti Shridhara Bhat was growing this variety on his farm. But it was yielding only 500 gm of crop per vine. Bhat was very disappointed and was all set to cut off his Okkalu vines. Venugopal advised him to give his vines the correct dose of nutrients. Now the same variety produces four kg per vine and traders are paying Bhat `80 more for his pepper crop.
Venugopal with a group of pepper farmers with whom he has formed strong bonds of trust
LEADERS OF FARMERS
Two years ago Venugopal fell seriously ill. After returning from Assam in June 2015, he got paralysed. The disease, called GB Syndrome, affects one in 100,000 people and results from excessive antibody production for a virus. His vision was affected and he couldn’t even lift his hand. For 23 days he was virtually helpless.
Even at this critical juncture, he was more concerned about the thousands of farmers for whom he was a leader. He phoned some of them to whisper a two-line message, “I don’t know if I can visit you again. Please stick to my recommendations.” Groups of farmers started rushing to the hospital. Everyone began praying for him. Eventually, “there was a miracle, a rebirth,” says Venugopal. He began recovering and after two and a half months he was back on his feet, travelling to the fields of farmers.
The hospital bill came to nearly Rs 10 lakhs. Farmers contributed to ease the financial burden. “You are our asset. You have to live for us. We have benefitted so much thanks to you. If every farmer contributes just five kg of pepper we can easily clear this bill,” they kept saying. The Indian Institute of Spices Research reimbursed some money.
Venugopal works quietly, away from the limelight. Yet he has become a legend in these five districts. No ICAR scientist has his dedication and hard work or guides farmers with so much sincerity. There are no parallels to our pepper doctor, say farmers.
Shree Padre travelled to Mysore and Sirsi to speak with farmers and spend time with Dr Venugopal. Yajna took the pictures.
source: http://www.civilsocietyonline.com / Civil Society / Home> Mega Hall of Fame / by Shree Padre (headline edited) / Photographs by Yajna / August 28th, 2019 (updated February 13th, 2023)
The Sidapur Museum of coffee where you can brew your own cup
SNUGGLED in the midst of 300 acres of verdant coffee and spice plantations in a picturesque pastoral setting, Evolve Back Resort in Kodagu has catapulted Kodagu onto the national tourism map. The luxury brand has ventured into the holiday hospitality business in this region. Owned by the Ramapuram Group, which has been in the plantation business since 1921, the resort is renowned for its beauty, facilities and hospitality.
In keeping with its avowed philosophy of offering exquisite, true-to-the-land experiences, the resort allows guests to sample plantation life at its graceful best. This is made possible by the traditional-style accommodation, and the host of facilities that the resort offers. The wide choice of accommodation includes Kodava-style Ayenmanes with private pools and plantation cottages. An Ayurveda spa, a gym, a conference hall, an infinity pool and three restaurants —Peppercorn, Plantation Leaf and Granary — are also on offer.
Boating in a four-acre private lake, guided plantation tours, coracle rides, birdwatching, cycling, and visiting the resort’s own school are some of the activities arranged for guests. We returned with memories of straight-from-the-heart service, pampering, privacy, tranquility and a multitude of enjoyable experiences firmly rooted in the natural environs and culture of the land.
At the Sidapur Museum of Coffee and Culture we experienced the thrill of making our own brew right from pulping, grading, roasting, grinding and cupping in. With the invigorating aroma of coffee in the air, we strolled around the museum and got a taste of how life was lived in the old days in Coorg. We found Coffeeology, a daily live session on the art and science of gourmet coffee, most interesting.
The museum offers different sections that showcase the story of the Ramapuram family, the history of coffee in Coorg, how coffee is cultivated globally and the art of brewing the perfect cup. It recreates a space evoking the rustic feel of a coffee plantation, with materials and objects used in the past and the present, reminiscent of eras gone by and ways of life that have been replaced with the onset of modernity.
Large, dented copper and brass vessels of unique shapes and sizes line the walls, each harbouring their unique stories. A few of the objects are from the Ramapuram family collection — a hand-operated coffee roaster and a typewriter that were very much in use on the Chikkana Halli Estate. The coffee grinder in the museum has had quite a journey. It belonged to a Kodava gentleman who ran a coffee house in Lahore before the Partition, after which it was transported to Bangalore and housed in Chinny’s Café on Brigade Road for many years.
restaurant which overlooks an infinity pool
Steeped in local lore and legend, the resort prides itself on locally inspired activities and initiatives which include school adoption, cultural shows by local artistes, providing them with a supplementary means of income, and schoolteachers’ training which demonstrate that responsible tourism is not a one-way street. Right from the native and eco-friendly architecture to the locally inspired activities and interaction with ethnic communities, the entire experience is life-enriching.
In keeping with its eco-friendly ethos, concerted efforts are made to conserve water. The cornerstone of the resort’s water conservation programme is the hotel’s own sewage treatment plant (STP). The treated water is used for irrigation in the gardens at the resort’s premises. The STP not only preserves the quality of fresh water resources, but reduces the amount of water used by the hotel. An extensive drip irrigation system allows the resort to use less water. A reverse osmosis plant installed in each cottage provides 100 percent safe drinking water while reducing the negative impact of over 50,000 plastic bottles every year. Other commendable water conservation programmes of the resort include rainwater harvesting and the ozonisation plant for the main swimming pool.
The resort’s solid waste management efforts are noteworthy too. Apart from the segregation of degradable and biodegradable waste, plastic, glass, metal and paper are sent for recycling. STP sludge is used as fertilizer. The use of CFL lamps, electronic key tags, and installation of governors on diesel generator sets have helped in conservation of energy. A company-owned wind power generator offsets power consumption and supplies surplus power to the government.
No tree has been cut down during the construction and the enormous ficus tree next to the pool has been there since before its inception. The landscape is beautifully laid out with indigenous flowering shrubs and plants. It is difficult to find exotic flora in the resort. All the trees and plants are named and this makes for an enjoyable and informative walk. Steps have also been taken to minimize formal landscaping.
With green consciousness catching on, travellers are heading to resorts with excellent responsible tourism bona fides.
Currently, local employment at the resort has been stepped up. The resort shows its concern for the community by organizing structured community development programmes. Cultural shows are carried out by the locals, providing them supplementary income.
The indigenous guides and staff are the faces of the resort’s claim to fame. These signature holidays which preserve the purity of nature and culture of the land have received due global recognition and prestigious awards. At the end of the stay, even a casual visitor will be converted into a sustainable tourism practitioner.
Fact File
Getting there: Distance from Bengaluru — 230 km / Distance from Mysuru — 100 km / Email: coorg@evolveback.com
source: http://www.civilsocietyonline.com / Civil Society / Home> Travel / by Susheela Nair / November 23rd, 2023 (updated February 29th, 2024)
A ₹12-crore project for the scientific disposal of legacy waste in Madikeri, Kushalnagar, and Virajpet in Kodagu district was launched on Friday.
An official statement here noted that MLA for Madikeri Mantar Gowda and MP for Mysuru Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar launched the project taken up under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan scheme at Subramanyanagar on the outskirts of Madikeri.
Mr. Gowda said that approximately 1.52 lakh tonnes of legacy waste, including around 76,636 tonnes from Madikeri, have been taken up for bioremediation under the project at Madikeri, Kushalnagar, and Virajpet.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yaduveer said the Central funding for the disposal of solid waste under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan scheme amounts to 50% of the project cost.
Madikeri Urban Development Authority chairman Rajesh Yellappa, city municipal council member Appanna, former president of Madikeri city municipal corporation Anitha Poovaiah, commissioner of the city municipal corporation H.R. Ramesh, and others were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by The Hindu Bureau / April 12th, 2025
Arshiya Bose, the founder of this Bengaluru-based “activist company”, traces its genesis, journey and what this award could mean for the smallholder coffee farmers in the country.
Coffee being dried in a remote hamlet | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Arshiya Bose feels that a conversation she had in Coorg, back in 2011, when she was pursuing her PhD at Cambridge, was a “pivotal moment” in her journey towards creating Black Baza Coffee. During her fieldwork to understand the impact of global sustainability certifications on farmers, she met the mother of a local grower from India’s coffee cup. “She asked me if I was going to do anything useful after my PhD,” recalls Arshiya, who soon recognised that while it was wonderful to be so deeply immersed in an academic project, “it can be selfish if that was where it stayed.”
This comment made her realise that much could be done to make coffee cultivation more sustainable — something that is increasingly becoming an important aspect of the industry’s long-term viability, considering both the environmental impact of conventional coffee farming and the fact that the bean is particularly vulnerable to climate change. In 2014, after completing her PhD, she returned to India, going on to start Black Baza two years later, naming the brand after a small, migratory raptor with “its own kind of cult following amongst birders, because it displays such interesting behaviours”.
The beginnings were small: 100 kilograms of coffee bought from four different farms. “Now, of course, that number has grown multifold, and we now work with around 650 farms (mainly in Palani, Wayanad and BR Hills),” says Arshiya of the Bengaluru-headquartered “activist company,” which has just won the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) 2025 Sustainability Awards in the ‘For Profit’ category. This annual award, by the world’s largest global coffee trade association, recognises “excellence in product innovation, design, and sustainability across the industry” with the winners (Fairtrade International won the ‘Nonprofit’ category) being formally recognised for their achievement at Speciality Coffee Expo in Houston in April.
A selection of Black Baza’s coffees | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Standards for sustainability
Admittedly, the word ’sustainable’ is a multifaceted, somewhat indefinable concept, with every organisation, brand, company, Government or country understanding the much-used term differently. “Therefore, we had to almost set our own standards for how we wanted to do things,” says Arshiya.
Black Baza only works with smallholder farmers who have already been growing organic coffee and are committed to maintaining and improving the native forest cover on their farms. “The average landholding on where we work is half-to-one-acre parcels of land in very remote parts of the country, with many belonging to tribal communities… people who’ve been historically marginalised and are vulnerable,” says Arshiya, who has a background in community-led conservation. She adds that Black Baza also helps farmers with the post-harvest process, working very closely on building capacity to produce better quality, speciality coffee, both arabica and robusta.
A coffee training programme being conducted | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
According to her, considerable care was taken to bring in a system of fair, transparent pricing, placing a premium on the coffee’s quality and the farming practices followed, including the attention paid to preserving the local biodiversity. Making coffee farms friendly to local flora and fauna, she says, is an especially crucial mandate of Black Baza since most coffee-growing areas are in places that are also rich in biodiversity. “That is true across South and Central America, parts of Kenya, Uganda, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Indian Western Ghats too,” she says.
Keeping with this focus on biodiversity, the names of all of Black Baza’s coffees, which are sold in compostable and degradable packaging, are inspired by various indicator species: organisms whose presence or absence offer insights into overall ecosystem health. Think potter wasps, lion-tailed macaques, otters, Indian moon moths, or the Malabar whistling thrush, “species symbolic of the kind of farming practices we like,” she says.
One of Black Baza’s partners with her produce | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The coffee conundrum
The popular belief is that coffee came to India in the 17th Century surreptitiously, smuggled from Yemen by the Sufi saint Baba Budan. “It is a sweet story, but that is not really how coffee became a full-fledged plantation industry. It was a colonial project,” says Arshiya, who, as part of her PhD work, spent a lot of her time in the British Library looking at archives to understand how coffee spread in India. “We know that it was the British East India Company that set up an experimental plot in Thalassery, Kerala, and expanded coffee across India from there.”
This expansion, however, came at a considerable ecological cost, with the British clearing vast hills to grow this coffee, later replanting the land with exotic species like silver oak, once they realised that coffee grew better in shade. “And when they left, they handed over their plantations to their favourite people. And that is where this land inequality came about,” she says. While coffee continues to be grown in large plantations, many coffee farmers cultivate coffee on very small tracts of land, making them especially vulnerable to the vagaries of Nature, including climate change, since coffee is especially susceptible to rising temperatures and rainfall pattern fluctuations. “Smallholder farmers are always more vulnerable in the face of any kind of natural disaster, and that is true of coffee as well,” she says.
Arshiya Bose | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Working with more farmers, therefore, is high on the list of Black Baza’s priorities, and Arshiya hopes that the recent SCA recognition can help them achieve this goal. “One of the ways we think of doing this is to develop a green coffee programme, and I think something like SCA enables us to now try to look for partners overseas,” she says, adding that getting into coffee exports would allow them to work with even more farmers. “We have also started expanding beyond coffee into other products that our farmers grow, including cardamom and pepper, and hope to open a couple of cafés soon, as well.”
For many of us, coffee is the fuel behind our mornings, meetings, or late-night study sessions. But behind every cup is a harsh reality: coffee farming is often unsustainable. It’s estimated that, for every cup we sip, about one square inch of rainforest is destroyed .
So, what’s a coffee lover to do?
The good news is there are coffee brands out there that are pioneering sustainability — Canadian brands like Forest Bean .
Forest Bean offers true forest-grown coffee, cultivated at high elevations and nurtured by biodiversity. Crafted purposefully, it’s perfect for coffee fans, roasters, and cafes seeking naturally grown, premium-quality beans. Ethically sourced from micro-lot farms in India, locally roasted Forest Bean inspires a deeper connection to nature and craft.
We spoke to Dr. Pete Poovanna , founder and executive director of Forest Bean Coffee, to find out what makes their beans stand out from the crowd.
Rooted in India, Roasted in Canada
Forest Bean
Forest Bean’s farms are located on the hilly forested heartland of the Indian Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The company was founded by Dr. Poovanna after he moved to Vancouver in 2013 for PhD in sustainable energy engineering, and was struck by Canada’s coffee culture and how our love for it was affecting the environment.
Born and raised in Coorg located in the heart of the Western Ghats himself, he was influenced by his parents’ land management as sixth-generation coffee farmers, and his community’s spiritually-rooted practices called “sacred grove farming.”
source: youtube.com
Determined to make a difference, he launched Forest Bean Inc. to bring sustainably grown Indian coffee to coffee connoisseurs around the world.
The farm
Forest Bean
At Forest Bean’s farms, coffee beans are grown naturally under two-tiered shade on micro-lots with the utmost emphasis on sustainability.
“Sacred grove farming utilizes traditional agroforestry methods, meaning our coffee plants thrive under natural forest shade alongside native flora and fauna,” Dr. Poovanna explains.
We believe protecting the farm by not felling trees or harming wildlife, the reigning deity will protect us in return, and the farmers will prosper. This approach enriches soil naturally, conserves water, and protects the rainforest ecosystem.”
Forest Bean
The farms produce some of the highest quality coffee while providing a natural habitat for a multitude of animals — birds, bugs, wild cats, apes, elephants, and more thrive alongside coffee plants.
Amid widespread greenwashing, Dr. Poovanna emphasizes that true sustainability in coffee production needs to address the entire lifecycle, farming practices included. He explains that only focusing on clean packaging or green transportation ignores the industry’s larger environmental impacts like deforestation and carbon loss during cultivation — something he says actually undermines genuine sustainability efforts.
Time-honoured traditions
Forest Bean
The Forest Bean coffee farmers, who belong to the ancient Kodava and Adivasi communities, employ traditional farming practices. Each bean is handpicked.
“Indian farming traditions are rooted in generations of Indigenous knowledge that prioritize sustainable coexistence with nature. By supporting and collaborating with Indigenous farmers, Forest Bean preserves these time-tested agricultural practices, ensuring cultural sustainability and economic empowerment.”
Forest Bean
The presence of Totem Figurines on our farms shows the deep cultural significance of the coffee forest and surrounding wilderness. Totem Figurines have been scattered throughout the farm for centuries.
Roasted locally in Vancouver
Forest Bean
Forest Bean coffee beans are roasted right here in Vancouver. Due to its unique growing methods, it offers distinct, vibrant flavours. Expect balanced acidity, smooth sweetness, nuanced notes of chocolate, nuts, berries, spices, and a uniquely rich, aromatic complexity.
“Our Bababudangiri single-origin Arabica, washed-process micro-lot, is very popular for its exceptional smoothness and balanced acidity; it’s called Medium Roast NARI , which means Tiger. Our Coorg micro-lot, Italian Espresso roast is also a favourite, known for its bright notes and rich complexity. It’s called MATANGA , meaning Elephant.”
Forest Bean
With every sip, you’re not just enjoying world-class coffee — you’re supporting a movement that values forests, farmers, and the future.
Head over to theforestbean.com to purchase it for yourself or make wholesale enquiries.
Shree Kaveri Kodagu Mahila Sangha, Mysuru, will conduct cultural competitions on Apr.13 (Sunday) at 10.30 am at Kodagu Sahakara Sangha premises in Jayalakshmipuram.
Chowrira Seethamma Kalaiah will be the chief guest. Kollira Bollamma Kuttappa, President, Shree Kaveri Kodagu Mahila Sangha, will preside.
K. Kavya Kuttappa, Vice – President; K. Bhavani Belliappa, Secretary; M. Jaya Muthappa, Treasurer; A. Tara Somaiah and P. Vimala Poonacha, Joint Secretaries; K. Pushpa Machaiah and K. Pushpa Nanaiah, Organising Secretaries and P. Lovely Appaiah, Kodagu Mahila Sangha Advisor, will be present on the occasion.
The Sangha members and their children can participate in drawing, singing, dance, pick-and-speak competitions.
For registration and details, contact Mob: 98862-84474, 99642-36284 or 77600-47102, according to a press release.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / April 08th, 2025
Sunalini Menon started working for the Coffee Board of India in 1971. Image Coffeelab
Global Coffee Report meets some of the women who’ve helped pave the way for the rapid expansion of India’s coffee industry.
On 1 January 2025, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy reported Indian coffee exports had exceeded US$1 billion for the first time, with its value increasing by 29 per cent between April and November in the 2024 fiscal year. This news was a major milestone in the growth of the country’s coffee export industry, which has accelerated over the past five years due to increasing global demand.
As India’s exports expand, so too does its domestic coffee industry. While traditionally a nation of tea drinkers, the almost 1.5 billion people that call it home are increasingly switching leaves for beans. The Coffee Board of India estimated that in 2023 domestic consumption reached 91,000 tonnes of green bean equivalent, up from 84,000 tonnes in 2012.
Now the world’s seventh largest coffee producer – and fifth largest Robusta producer – India is one of the major players. Yet, when Sunalini Menon, Founder of Coffeelab and Member of the Board of Directors of the Specialty Coffee Association, started working at the Coffee Board of India in 1971 the industry was unrecognisable.
“When I was growing up, coffee was only brewed at home and only consumed by the elderly. It was very expensive compared to tea, so that’s what most people drank. On every corner there would be a man selling tea and that’s what you’d have unless it was a special occasion,” Menon says.
“Any coffee that was consumed then was grown in India because the duty was so high that importing coffee for consumption wasn’t a workable position or a requirement at that point in time.”
In 2025, Indian coffee exports exceeded US$1 billion for the first time. Image: Kelachandra Coffee
Women in the field
The British East India Company introduced large-scale coffee cultivation to India in the 18th century and since its early origins women have played a role in farming the precious beans. While women have continued to prop up the country’s coffee farming workforce (a 2015 study by the Indian Statistical Institute estimated 34 per cent of workers in the coffee curing and manufacturing sector of India are women), Menon was India and Asia’s first female coffee taster when she assumed the role in the early 1970s.
“At the time, the profession was a completely male pasture. I originally wanted to become a dietician and had a scholarship to study in New York, but as I was waiting for my visa to be approved I applied for a job as a coffee taster at the Coffee Board of India,” she says.
“Part of the hiring process was a taste test which I did very well in, but when it came to the interview they said that despite my abilities they couldn’t hire me because I was a woman. They thought they would spend the time and money training me only for it to be wasted if I then decided to have a family.”
Menon stood her ground and complained that the job advertisement should have specified if it was a male-only role. Thankfully, the Chairman was forward thinking and gave her the opportunity to train as a coffee taster.
Her first few years in the role were tough, with most of her male colleagues ignoring her and not taking notice of her requests.
“I used to cry every day until finally my boss gave me some advice. He told me I had to first acquire my knowledge, have patience, and then my knowledge would become power,” she says.
“These are words I always pass on to young women today. Learn your subject, be very sure of what you are talking about, and then you’ll be firm in what you do. I think that was a turning point in my life, and that’s how I began my journey at the Coffee Board.”
Women have played a role in India’s coffee farming industry since its early origins. Image: Kelachandra Coffee.
Improving cup quality
Over her 50-year career, Menon has witnessed the revolution of the country’s coffee industry. She says the single biggest contributor to its success has been the focus on quality.
“In the 1970s, the Coffee Board took care of marketing Indian coffee and part of my role was assessing quality. This was because the smallholder farmers didn’t understand the market and were unsure of how to sell their coffees, nor understood the international coffee market, especially the pricing for their coffees and hence the government stepped in,” she says.
“I would receive coffee from the farmers and the payment would be decided by the quality of the beans, so they were incentivised to improve the quality of their crop. The farmers didn’t like the setup at first, but when the markets were liberalised in 1996 it meant they had learned what the markets would expect – they saw the value in cupping as a marketing tool.”
Even after the liberalisation of the Indian coffee market, Menon continued to help the farmers asses the quality of their coffee.
“Many of the farmers I worked with came to me and said, ‘How can you leave us? We don’t know much about quality, how to sell, or how to process. You can’t leave us in the lurch’. I thought I’d help them for a couple of weeks, but the months started passing by,” she says.
“It was a great journey because the farmers really started to understand how they could improve quality and get more money for their coffee.”
While in many producing countries Arabica has traditionally been processed more carefully than Robusta to produce a premium product, Menon says that wasn’t the case with the farmers she worked with, nor the other coffee farmers in India.
“We never treated Robusta differently to Arabica. We replicated the processing methods, so we were preparing and offering washed Robustas to the international market too. At the time, farmers asked if they were wasting their time, money, and water, but I assured them it was worth it. That process has created some of the finest coffees in the world market – one that India is now famous for,” she says.
“Through all these years of hard work, today I can hold my head up and say Indian coffee is of a very high quality. What’s more, there are now a lot more women in the industry. I teach a Master’s course in Coffee Science and Economics at the University of Udine in Italy, under the Ernesto Illy Foundation, and I have students from all over the world. I feel very proud because I see so many of my young women doing so well here in India.”
Left to right: Neleema Rana George, Ryana Kuruvilla, and Rishina Kuruvilla. Image: Kelachandra Coffee.
The female factor
Women’s growing role in the coffee sector is reflected in the number of women who work at Kelachandra Coffee, one of the country’s oldest and largest privately owned coffee plantations. According to Ryana Kuruvilla, Head of People and Culture at Kelachandra Coffee, 55 per cent of its workforce are female.
“Overall, more than half of our workforce are women. That includes our office staff, and the farmers who work on the 6300 acres of coffee estates we manage in Karnataka and Kerala,” says Kuruvilla.
“In India, all coffee is hand-picked, and women have traditionally made up the majority of the pickers. During the harvest season, we have hundreds of families who come to live on the estate and my job is to look after the employees and make their lives easier while they are staying and working with us.”
Kuruvilla is one of a number of women in leadership positions at Kelachandra. The family business, which dates back to 1786 and ventured into coffee in 1995, is invested in the role women play in the growth of India’s coffee industry.
“There is a small but experienced group of women who are changing the Indian coffee industry for the better,” says Neleema Rana George, Head of Coffee Works and Technology at Kelachandra.
“People like Namrata Asthana, Co-Founder of Blue Tokai, and Arshiya Bose, Founder of Black Baza Coffee, are introducing specialty coffee to Indian consumers. Furthermore, Sunalini Menon consults on our farms, sharing her knowledge with our estate managers to ensure the taste and quality of our coffee is the best it can be.”
George believes women are increasingly influencing the industry because of shifting values and the generational nature of coffee businesses in India.
“Coffee is very much a family business, so children often learn a lot about it from a young age. Especially on the estates, it’s a very organic industry for women to get into because they are knowledgeable about the processes and have grown up surrounded by it,” she says.
“In other areas of the supply chain, café groups such as Blue Tokai and Black Baza Coffee Co, are creating a real coffee culture in India. Over the past five years, domestic coffee consumption has increased by around 30 per cent and I think that’s largely due to third-wave coffee shops introducing quality coffee and different flavours.”
Responding to this growing interest in specialty coffee, George says many second- and third-generation farmers have focused their production on specialty-grade crops.
“The increased interest in drinking specialty coffee in India is driving the quality of the coffee grown here,” she says.
“However, when we attend international expos, we often find people assume India only produces commodity coffee. They often haven’t experienced Indian specialty and when we introduce it to them they’re surprised and impressed by it.”
Drive for sustainability
As well as empowering its workforce, Kelachandra Coffee is dedicated to the continued improvement of Indian coffee and believes creating a sustainable future for the industry is paramount to its success.
Rishina Kuruvilla, Head of Sustainability at the company, says India’s tradition of shade growing coffee means it is somewhat shielded from some of the extreme weather events that can decimate coffee yield in other producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam. However, sustainability is still a major focus for the company.
“We strive to use as few pesticides and chemicals as possible in the coffee production process, so we compost where we can to ensure nutrients go back into the soil. We are also very stringent about our chemical use to protect the natural landscape surrounding the coffee plantations,” she says.
“We also do a lot of intercropping, so our coffee trees are planted alongside citrus and jack fruits. As well as increasing biodiversity, this process improves the flavour of the coffee as the other fruits add unique flavours to the beans as they grow.”
With extreme weather causing production issues in many other countries, Kuruvilla believes India can step in to fill the gap as global demand for coffee continues to rise.
“In India, we have a lot of our natural advantages against these weather issues. Everything is done by hand here, so we’re not using machines to strip the land. Every aspect of our coffee processing method is taken with care to ensure we don’t harm the land so that people can continue to farm coffee this way for generations to come,” she says.
“Last year, India produced 350,000 tonnes of coffee and an increasing number of people are getting into the industry so that’s expected to increase. We’re ready to step up and introduce even more people to the joys of quality Indian coffee.”
This article was first published in the March/April 2025 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
source: http://www.cgrmag.com / Global Coffee Report / Home> Features> India / by Kathryn Lewis / April 19th, 2025
The festival celebrated India’s growing coffee culture and featured a vibrant mix of food stalls, lifestyle brands, and live music, creating a lively atmosphere for attendees.
The India International Coffee Festival (IICF) 2025 was held from April 25- 27 at Marakata, Chamara Vajra, on Jayamahal Main Road, Bengaluru. Organised by the Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) with support from the Coffee Board of India, the event brought together some of the country’s finest brewers, baristas, and coffee enthusiasts.
Following its successful 2024 editions in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, the festival offered three days of competitions, discussions, entertainment, and interactive experiences. Highlights included the semi-finals and finals of the National Barista Championship (NBC), National Latte Art Championship, National Brewers Cup (NBrC), and the grand finale of the National Filter Coffee Championship.
DM Purnesh, President, Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) said, “IICF has always been an inspiration for coffee lovers, industry experts, and brands. As we return with the much-anticipated semi-finals and finals, we’re proud to once again spotlight and celebrate the country’s finest coffee talent. With seasoned baristas, industry pioneers, and even discerning coffee critics in attendance, IICF 2025 promises to be an unmissable event for anyone passionate about the art of coffee.”
The festival celebrated India’s growing coffee culture and featured a vibrant mix of food stalls, lifestyle brands, and live music, creating a lively atmosphere for attendees. Experts, top growers, roasters, and equipment makers participated, sharing insights into brewing trends and innovations.
Sreeram G, Director, Marketing, Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) said, “The India International Coffee Festival is not just about competition; it’s about connection. This festival serves as a dynamic platform for networking, innovation, and celebrating coffee as a lifestyle. It brings together coffee professionals, aficionados, and industry leaders to exchange ideas, explore emerging trends, and experience the rich intersection of coffee, cuisine, and craftsmanship.”
source: http://www.bwhotelier.com / BW Hotelier / Home> F&B / by BW Online Bureau / April 08th, 2025
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