Constantly beset by challenges beyond their control — from socio-economic upheavals to environmental constraints — Yemen's coffee-farming families persevere in perpetuating their forefathers' agricultural heritage.
The Valley of Hozan or Wadi Hozan, in the Manakha district of West Haraz, is home to 11,000 residents for whom coffee is the primary, if not only, source of livelihood.
Amid the arduous topography, the coffee farming families resiliently tend to coffee trees that thrive across terraces clinging to the steep and arid yet fertile highland terrains. In this area’s specific climatic and agronomic conditions, the coffee cherries grow to capture singularly extraordinary, sweet, and nuanced notes not found elsewhere.
The Haraz region, being at the forefront of Yemeni specialty coffee production, has become known for its peerless landscapes and is endearingly referred to as "the land above the clouds" because of its high elevation amid the Sarat mountain range. Apart from the high altitudes, its location — some 150 km inland from the Red Sea’s primary port of Al-Hudaydah, parallel to the eastern coast of the Red Sea and with the Gulf of Aiden to the south — also contributes to the beneficial conditions for growing coffee with potential for the finest sensory attributes.
Our partner, Mokha not Mocha, strives to bring ease to the Yemeni farmers’ lives through their community-based specialty coffee initiatives.
By astutely switching the Arabic kh in place of ch in naming his company Mokha not Mocha, its founder Abdulrahman Hayek Saeed evokes an inevitable reminiscence of the Arabian heritage of coffee. As a venue for evaluating and processing of coffee cherries, as well as farmer education, the company provides opportunities to continuously improve coffee quality and commercial value, to increase the farming families’ income and better their quality of life.
