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Coffee producer Haile Gebre grew up among the coffee farms of Yirgacheffe, one of Ethiopia’s most storied producing regions. But after being forced from the region as a child, it took decades to come back to coffee. Today, Haile is known as the “Godfather of Guji”, a name built on his years of experience in local government, cooperative management, and ultimately, coffee farming.

Gebre’s Shakisso is a 640-hectare, semi-forest farm, as well as a washing station that collects coffee from more than 300 neighboring smallholders. Together with legendary producer Tesfaye Bekele of Suke Quto farm, Gebre has made a name for Guji in the last two decades, helping the region earn a reputation for nuanced, complex, sought-after Ethiopian flavor profiles like light citrus and stone fruit.

Along the way, Gebre and his colleagues have done much to improve farm management, processing, and agronomy. One program in conjunction with importer Trabocca and external scientists helped Gebre create a bespoke compost with all the right ingredients to complement the soil Shakisso's many outgrower farmers plant in. Wastewater and pulp have also been treated with Effective Microorganisms to clean water and accelerate the production of beneficial compost.