Warsanlyngdoh Coffee Collective
Warsanlyngdoh Coffee Collective
AUGUST 22, 2023
The Warsanlyngdoh Coffee Collective is based in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, where coffee grows in a thriving agroforest. Chandragiri and Selection 9 Arabica are cultivated there alongside pineapple, betel leaf, Assam lemon, Khasi mandarin, foxtail orchids, and pitcher plants. The surrounding forest is home to slow lorises, civets, and wild boars. Further south, gibbons, elephants, and leopards pass through stretches of land enclosing a river.
The collective was started by Daman who first visited Nongryniang—a village in the Khasi Hills and home to the nanny who cared for him in his early years. In a backyard, he spotted a few old coffee plants, remnants of a short-lived government programme from the 1980s. That discovery stayed with him. It sparked a ten-year journey of learning and collaboration, reimagining what coffee could mean for the region.
Over the past decade, Daman and the farmers he works with have moved away from practices like charcoal burning and broom cultivation that led to soil erosion and deforestation. Together, they’ve focused on building a sustainable approach to coffee farming, rooted in ecological awareness and community.
The collective refers to their coffee as sacred beans. Their specialty produce, to them, is more than a harvest. “For us, these beans are sacred because they carry within them the hope of a greener future, the wisdom of our elders, and the promise of a better tomorrow,” says Daman.
