The Story of Dimtu Tero Farm

When traveling from Addis to the Dimtu Tero Farm, it takes you 1,5 days to get there. If you cross Yirgacheffe, you find the rolling hills and plains of Guji. An entirely different landscape compared to Yirgacheffe. Slightly better roads slide over hilly grassy plains suited for livestock. Although coffee takes a central part in Guji culture, it took years before the Guji people started to use coffee as a cash crop.

But in the early 2000s, the founding fathers of Guji’s rich coffee culture, Haile and Tesfaye, started to farm coffee. The young Getachew Zekele lived through the transformation and, when growing up, became part of it. Although choosing a career in coffee, Getachew grew up in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The Zekele family moved to the South because of career opportunities for Getachew’s father. A decision that would pave the way for Getachew’s work in coffee.

Getachew remembers how his parents introduced him to a coffee-loving community. “Coffee is a respected crop in the area where I came to live. The community uses coffee as food in rituals and ceremonies, and it is also used as an instrument to bless traditional leaders, Abba Gadaa.”, Getachew explains.