Sweet Maria’s has been supporting a program for rural Ethiopian coffee farmers from it’s inception. Learn more about the importance of stumping a coffee tree!
Stumping coffee trees is important to maintain their vitality and productivity. But it’s not a traditional practice in many parts of EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie, was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... ...more. Therefore the yield of fruit from each tree diminishes in time, incomes for the coffee farmer become smaller, and the benefit of growing coffee to help the farmer’s family an community lessen.
The Stumping Project is a training program in rural coffee-farming communities in Ethiopia. It is now entering its fourth year of operation and is having a great effect on the lives of coffee-growing families participating in the program
Through the increases in yield and quality that farmers can achieve by stumping their old coffee trees, significant and important changes are beginning to take place in farming families’ lives: houses are improved, workloads are eased, finances are greatly increased, and some farmers are even managing to pay for their children’s university education. This means that coffee farmers’ quality of life is improved both in the short term and into the future.
This is all thanks to the wonderful work done by TechnoServe on the ground, helped in part by contributions made by Falcon’s customers’ support, which provides the simple but vital farming tools needed for the project to succeed.
Wheelbarrows, pruning shears, and saws are valued implements in these remote, underfunded areas. This encourages farmers to take on the vital practice of stumping to regenerate their old coffee trees, which then become remarkably productive again, thus ensuring the future of Ethiopian coffee.
Nothing indicates the transformative effects of this project more than the case studies of just two of the many families whose lives have been improved by The Stumping Project: female farmer Asnakech Bogale, and Tariku Berato and his wife, Fikru Tariku.
Coffee Farmer Profile: Asnakech Bogale
Asnakech Bogale, 32, is a farmer living in Sokicha Kebele, Wonago Woreda. She is married with four children and owns 0.75ha of land, of which 0.5ha is dedicated to coffee cultivation. In January 2023, Asnakech enrolled in the TNS Farmer College, where she learned about coffee stumping and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Motivated by the training, she quickly took the step to stump her coffee trees.
Reason for Stumping: Asnakech observed that her coffee trees were aging, yielding poorly, and were affected by diseases. To rejuvenate her farm, she decided to stump her old coffee trees. In the first year (2023), she stumped around 350 trees, and in the following year (January 2024), she stumped an additional 100 trees.
Support : Through the TFS program, Asnakech received a wheelbarrow, which greatly assisted her in farm activities, particularly transporting compost and water. This tool proved especially useful to her as a female farmer, enabling her to work more efficiently and reduce the physical strain associated with farm tasks. She received tools for stumping along with training.
Impact of Stumping: The impact of stumping was very positive. During this year’s harvest, Asnakech collected around 400 kg of coffee from the stumped trees, earning 30,000 ETB at a market price of 75 ETB per kilogram. Her total coffee harvest, including from unstumped trees, amounted to 700 kg, yielding a total of 52,500 ETB. Additionally, she successfully intercropped haricot beans and hot peppers on the stumped land, producing 400 kg of haricot beans, half of which was used for household consumption, and the other half (200 kg) sold for 85 ETB per kg, generating 17,000 ETB. She also produced 150 kg of hot peppers, 100 kg of which was sold at 50 ETB per kg, earning an additional 5,000 ETB.
Overall Benefits: Stumping brought an unexpected boost to Asnakech’s income, improved the quality of her coffee, and provided additional revenue through intercropping. The wheelbarrow further enhanced her productivity, making transportation tasks easier and more efficient. She expressed great satisfaction with the training and support received through the programme and now encourages fellow farmers to adopt stumping as a way to revitalise their coffee farms and improve their livelihoods.
Coffee Farmer Profile: Tariku Berato, Fikru Tariku
Tariku Berato, 40, and his wife, Fikru Tariku, 32, are smallholder farmers from Sokicha Kebele, Wonago Woreda, FFG Hengine. They have five children and cultivate a 0.75ha farm entirely planted with coffee. In January 2023, they joined the TNS Farmer College, where they received training on coffee stumping and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Inspired by the training, Tariku decided to stump his coffee trees. He earned a certificate after completing the two-year Farmer College program.
Reason for Stumping: Tariku and Fikru’s coffee plants were aging, yielding poorly, and suffering from diseases. After learning about the TNS Farmer College during a local session, they attended demonstration plots and gained insight into the benefits of stumping. Understanding this as the solution, Tariku stumped around 500 trees in January 2023, followed by 114 more the next year. In January 2025, he stumped an additional 400 trees and plans to complete the process next year.
Support: Through the program, Tariku received a wheelbarrow to assist with transporting compost and harvested coffee cherries, reducing labour costs and improving efficiency. Previously, he paid for labour to carry these items. The wheelbarrow also eased his wife’s task of carrying water,helping improve their household management. They are grateful for the support from TechnoServe and Falcon.
Impact of Stumping: The impact of stumping was significant. In the 2024 harvest season, Tariku harvested 700 kg of coffee from the stumped trees, earning 56,000 ETB at a market price of 80 ETB per kilogram. His total coffee harvest, including unstumped trees, was 1,150 kg, generating 92,000 ETB. He also intercropped haricot beans in the stumped plot over two years, yielding 600 kg. Half was used for home consumption, while 300 kg was sold for 85 ETB per kg, earning 24,000 ETB. Tariku noted that his income from intercropping surpassed that from the old coffee trees.
Overall Benefits and Farmer Satisfaction: Stumping led to an unexpected income boost, improved coffee quality, and extra earnings from intercropping. The wheelbarrow also improved productivity and efficiency. Tariku and Fikru expressed high satisfaction with the two-year training and support, now encouraging other farmers to adopt stumping to rejuvenate their coffee farms and improve their livelihoods.
Future Plans: Tariku plans to stump the remaining old trees, invest further in coffee agronomyScience and study of crops and soils: A branch of agriculture dealing with field-crop production, soil management and physiology of crop plants as its focus. ...more, enhance his livelihood, and build a new house next year.
The Stumping Project Team, Technoserve, Falcon Coffee, Sweet Maria’s and Other Donors
4 Responses
They’re earning about $0.25 per pound of harvested coffee? I don’t know if this is post-process or just picked, but that’s frighteningly little per pound considering we pay about 80 times that for roasted coffee (and 30-40 times for green). I cannot believe that just the simple gift of a wheelbarrow is considered so unusual. I have several pruning saws and multiple wheelbarrows just for maintaining landscaping on my 5 acre lot, and I don’t even grow anything for consumption. I’m just making my shrubs and trees look nice, I produce nothing. I’m glad these programs exist, but I wish that it was not so amazingly transformative. I wish these tools were readily available to everyone. If I need a new wheelbarrow, I just drive down to the local hardware store. Its like these people had never seen one. Is there anyway to contribute to this programs or similar programs?
Usually they work in Kgs of coffee cherry. The conversion of cherry to green bean before milling is 6:1 generally. Your thoughts on the tools are appreciated! The basic tool everyone has is a machete, and the main point of offering saws for pruning the larger stumps is that the future health of the tree depends on a clean cut. Machete produces a pretty bad cut in the larger hard wood which can reduce the life of the coffee tree – at least that is what I have seen and been told.
I also noted (from the photos) that the tires on the wheelbarrow’s are air filled. Those never last very long in a rough environment. Its far better to have solid rubber tires. They last forever with no maintenance. What do they do when a thorn or nail punctures the tire? They must be very resourceful people.
I agree that a pruning saw is the way to go. Its cleaner and easier on the tree. A good pruning saw will cut through a 3-inch trunk in about 15 seconds. Still, stumping hundreds of trees has got to be hard work.
Thats true – just replaced a hand truck on mine with solid tires. So much better