Story
Three hundred and ninety kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the Kochere highlands sit between 1,980 and 2,250 metres. Around 2,150 smallholders deliver cherry to the washing station Danicho Mukere runs in Hama, in the Yirgacheffe growing area. Their plots average 1.5 hectares — closer to gardens than fields — and on them the JARC selections 74110, 74112 and 74158 grow mixed in with Ethiopian landraces.
The trees here do not stand in monoculture. Native species — zigba, bahir zaf, wanza — grow alongside them, casting shade and holding the soil in place. In that steady microclimate the cherry ripens without hurry. The long harvest, running from October into the middle of January, is the evidence.
