Morning mist still hangs over the hills of Kahaya Village in Bulukumba. Cool air drifts down from the slopes, covering rows of coffee trees that grow at nearly 1.000 meters above sea level. Among them, Muhammad Darwish has already started his day. A small basket hangs from his waist as he carefully picks ripe red cherries from the branches.

Darwish once left this place. A few years ago, he moved to the city to work and continue his studies. Like many young people from rural areas, he thought the future might be found elsewhere. The city felt more certain, with more jobs and opportunities. But over time, he began to feel that something important was missing.

He decided to return.

“My hope is that young people come back to farming,” he said. “Coffee farming is for the long term, for our future.” 

Now, more young people are returning to the village. But this shift did not happen overnight.

When Coffee Was Taken for Granted 

Coffee has long been part of life in Kahaya. It grows in almost every family’s land across this mountain village. But for many years, it was not seen as a reliable source of income. Prices were often low, market access was limited, and farming and processing methods were still basic. Marsan, head of the Mitra Mandiri Kahaya Cooperative (KMMK), remembers those days clearly.

“Coffee used to sell very cheaply. Sometimes it didn’t sell at all,” he said.

Farmers would harvest all the cherries at once, without selecting which ones were fully ripe. The beans were then dried on the ground or in front of their homes, without clear processing methods. This led to inconsistent quality and made it hard to compete in the market. Outside Kahaya, the coffee was seen as ordinary.

Because of this, many young people chose to leave the village. Farming coffee did not seem promising for the future. Things began to change about ten years ago, when local communities started to look again at the potential of Kahaya coffee and how it could be improved. 

The Rise of Kahaya Coffee

In that process, farmers began to realize that Kahaya coffee actually has a unique taste. This became clearer as farming and processing methods slowly improved.  

“In the past, Kahaya coffee tasted earthy in a bad way and almost like soil,” said Awal Irsyad, one of the people involved in developing coffee in the village. “Now, we can taste more floral and fruity notes.”

Farmers later formed a cooperative as a place to work together, improve quality, and organize their production. As this process continued, it was strengthened with support from different partners, including the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by UNDP together with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Through this support, farmers learned better farming practices, agroforestry, and improved post-harvest techniques. 

At the same time, the way farmers view the market has also begun to change. Previously, coffee was sold to local middlemen, with limited access and little understanding of quality standards. As part of this strengthening process, farmers through the Mitra Mandiri Kahaya Cooperative (KMMK) have been connected with various actors, from coffee communities and industry players to potential buyers at both national and international levels, including in Saudi Arabia, China, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Dubai, and Russia.

The changes soon became visible in the fields. Farmers began picking only ripe cherries, improving processing methods, and paying more attention to quality. As a result, the quality of Kahaya coffee improved significantly. Some batches even reached cupping scores above 85, which places them in the specialty coffee category.

For Marsan, the change is not only about technique, but also about mindset.

“Farmers are different now,” he said. “They understand quality and are more confident in setting their price.”

Youth Return, Forests Remain

The changes in Kahaya’s coffee sector have also brought young people back to the village. Darwish is one of them. He returned with new experiences, but with a simple decision to continue farming coffee.

“My dream is to increase coffee production so we can export more,” he said.

In Kahaya, coffee is not only about income. It is also closely connected to nature. Most coffee farms are located in upland areas that feed several rivers in Bulukumba. In these areas, coffee is grown under the shade of larger trees as part of an agroforestry system.

This means farmers do not need to clear forests to grow coffee. Instead, they keep the trees and natural vegetation, which helps protect the land and water sources.

“By buying Kahaya coffee, consumers are also supporting conservation,” Marsan said. “Because when coffee is planted, trees are planted too.”

When coffee has good economic value, farmers have a strong reason to maintain their land and in doing so, they also help protect the surrounding forest.  

The story of Kahaya coffee is still growing. But in this small village in the hills of Bulukumba, coffee is no longer just a crop. It has become a story of change of young people returning, of farmers learning new ways, and of a community caring for its land while building its future.

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Writer: Bambang Nurjaman
Editor: Nabilla Rahmani