Naung Khar Natural // Shan State, Myanmar

The Hopong Region has long been entwined with opium poppy cultivation, a practice deeply rooted in the socio-economic fabric of its communities. The Pa-O ethnic group, predominant in this area, has historically relied on poppy farming as a primary income source. This dependency is largely due to the crop's profitability, especially in a region where alternative livelihoods are scarce.  This reliance has attracted various armed groups and cartels, leading to a complex web of control and exploitation.

Established as a means to give the people a generative, sustainable, and safer means for income, the Indigo Mountain Co-op began working in the Shan State, helping to transition farmers livelihoods to specialty coffee and to show that coffee truly offers a viable path to a better future

Naung Khar is one of the newest members to join this cooperative.  Cherries are collected early in the morning, and then brought to collection depots within the village.  Deliveries are meticulously inspected, graded and sorted — and only fully ripe cherries make it onto raised drying beds. Each lot is separated by day and, after slow drying to 11% moisture levels, are sent to Amayar Women’s Processing Facility in Ywangan for further wet and dry milling.

 *Roasts Tuesday, Ships the following day.