Organization: Subak Abian

Region: Kintamani

Process: Natural Process

Altitude: 1200 to 1600 Meters

Varietal: S 795,USDA 762, Bourbon, Catimor

Arabica plantings in the Balian Kintamani highlands were destroyed by the eruption of Gunung Agung in 1963.

Quality crops stayed quite low until the 1970s and 1980s, when the government began a program to supply coffee seedlings to local farmers.

Now, Bali has dedicated approximately 7,500 hectares to the growth of Arabica coffee. Farmers use shade trees such as Erythrina, Albizia, Tangerine, and Orange, which improves both yield and cup quality. Pesticides are never used on coffee farms in Bali, and all the fertilizers are 100% organic.

With the scarcity of groundwater due to the soil being so volcanic, the suggestion was made to produce using a full, natural process. Raised beds that were already being used for drying parchment made for an easy transition to dry the whole, ripe cherry.

Coffee farmers in Kintamani are strongly organized through Subak Abian, a traditional structure of farmer organization in the upland areas of Bali.

Subak Abian plays an important role not only in agricultural activities but also in religious ones.

Founded on the Hindu philosophy of “Tri Hita Karana” (meaning the three causes of happiness), the philosophy is all about the relation of the individual to God, to other men, and to his environment.

Each Subak Abian democratically establishes its own written rules, the so called “awig-awig”, and also works to form village cooperatives.