Innovation

This innovation starts with a concern from a young man, who his father came from Manggarai, Flores, he had concern about the life of the coffee farmer, and also the distribution of Flores coffee, because he realized that no one knows or even aware about the Flores coffee even though the production of Flores coffee is huge and the farmers had difficulties in selling their coffees.

Based on that condition, Andreas Hambur commit to himself to make a different in Manggarai, Flores, his father hometown. On 2014 he build a startup company named Tuang Bumi, a company that have commitment to community by partnering (educating, assisting, developing and also work side by side) with local coffee farmers (individually and/or group of farmers) in Manggarai, Flores to be able to produce high quality and optimum also premium coffee and he make this partnership as mutual benefit for each party.

The Farmers growing their coffee plants in a very traditional way, looking for the high quality of coffee bean wasn’t easily to be found. At the very first time Tuang Bumi have decided to partnering with the Farmers and to work directly with the Farmers to grow the high quality of coffee bean, they start to educate the Farmers of the importance of having a high quality coffee bean and to have a sustainable future high quality coffee bean by training them the techniques such as picking techniques, choosing and processing of the coffee beans, which all of these techniques are important to be taken seriously in order to maintain and improve the taste of coffee and Tuang Bumi also give continues consultation and progress monitoring on the implementation in the field.

With the education and assistant given, the Farmers can produce a high quality and optimum also premium coffee, and for that Tuang Bumi also make a commitment to buy the Farmers coffee product in fair price (even we can say it’s very good price), the price that Tuang Bumi give for the Farmers to buy every coffee that they pick and/or produce is 4 times higher than the coffee price in Manggarai and the Farmers can sell directly to Tuang Bumi without no more middleman or unnecessary traders or coffee collectors (tengkulak/ijon).

For Tuang Bumi, this direct buying is cutting the layer of supply chain process until the minimum layers and this can eliminated the high cost of the company purchasing expense. For the Farmers with the fair price and income they have, it give them a better life, they can improve their economy, their life quality, and a better future for their family.

Inspiration

Manggarai, Flores is Andreas Hambur Founder and CEO of Tuang Bumi father hometown. Andreas and his father often come there to visit their family, one time when they go there he saw many of the coffee farmers sell their coffee along the side of the road, he try to talk with one of the coffee farmers and then he knew that actually they have a quite big of coffee plantation but seeing their house and how their life is very heartbreaking.

“Indonesia have a great potency as a coffee producer, but we forget that the coffee farmers are working so hard and so behind in the technological knowhow” (quotes from interviewee), so despite the big coffee plantation they have and how much coffee they produce they still cannot have a proper life. After he arrived in Jakarta, he tried to connect the condition in Manggarai with the coffee vibes in Jakarta, he realized that no one know or even aware about Flores coffee even though the production of Flores coffee is so huge and the farmers had difficulties in selling the coffees.

He committed to himself that he had to do something in there and for the Farmers, he left his permanent job as a lawyer and he build Tuang Bumi. He made a partnership with the Farmers, he try to make this partnership as mutual benefit for each party, especially for the Farmers who strive to have a better life for their family, a good education for their children and the important thing is to give the next generation a better future, better Indonesia.

Overall impact

Currently there are 250 – 300 Farmers partnering with Tuang Bumi, Tuang Bumi continues their commitment in developing quality awareness and campaigning for the high quality standards of coffee beans to the Farmers as well as transferring knowledge to make sure the Farmers kept the quality of their coffee and the supply chain.

With the commitment from Tuang Bumi to give an education and assistant to the Farmers and the commitment to buy the Farmers coffee product in fair price even we can say it’s very good price because the coffee price that Tuang Bumi buy from the Farmers is 4 times higher than the coffee price in Manggarai, so the Farmers can produce high quality, optimum and also premium coffee and they can sell directly to Tuang Bumi and get fair price on every coffee that they pick and/or produce.

With that good price and income they have, they can improve their economy, their life quality, they can build a proper house with toilet inside and they can have a better life for their family, also give a good education for their children.

Business benefit

Tuang Bumi and the Farmers get the mutual benefit of this partnership. The benefit for the company is this partnership bring Tuang Bumi closeness to the coffee supplier which can fulfill Tuang Bumi high quality requirement, high standard for Arabica coffee. For the Farmers they can directly sell their coffee that they produce to buyer which is Tuang Bumi, without no more middleman or unnecessary traders or coffee collectors, and the Farmers can get fair price on every coffee that they pick and/or produce, because Tuang Bumi ultimately give the Farmers an access to serve their valuable product to the specialty coffee market.

This direct buying is cutting the layer of coffee buying process until the minimum layers and due to the short process of coffee purchasing (supply chain process), this can eliminated the high cost of the company purchasing expense.

With the commitment from Tuang Bumi to buy coffee from the Farmers and the commitment from the Farmers to produce a high quality and give optimum and also premium coffee to Tuang Bumi, so Tuang Bumi can deliver high quality product for the customer and also can created a new product to the market, not only green bean but also roasted bean (coffee bean and coffee powder) and ready to drink coffee in a bottle.

Social and environmental benefit

Andreas Hambur, said that for the Farmers like Arabica Farmer Group in Manggarai, confessed that he and the company has a big role in encouraging and shaping the Farmers in Manggarai to uplift and maintain the taste of Flores coffee. With the education given by Tuang Bumi they understand how the Farmers should pay attention to techniques such as picking techniques, choosing and processing of the coffee beans. Where all these techniques are important to be taken seriously in order to maintain and improve the taste of coffee produced.

With the education and assistant given by Tuang Bumi to the Farmers, they can produce high quality, optimum and also premium coffee and they can get fair price on every coffee that they pick and/or produce so they can improve their economy and have a better life for their family, also good education for their children.

Tuang Bumi also educate the Farmers to rejuvenate the coffee plantation in their plant, Tuang Bumi educate the Farmers that with rejuvenating, that action will help the Farmers to improve their coffee productivity in their area and Tuang Bumi give understanding to the Farmers that with their productivity can be improve the economy of the Farmers and it’s also expected that it can also give impact to the environment, because with the rejuvenating action also regenerating the trees.

Interview

Andreas Hambur, Bachelor of Law