A Call from Wae Rebo Coffee

Marselus Esbi, popularly known as Marsel, is aware that Wae Rebo, located in the inner part of Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara, has become known over the past decade for its natural beauty and the architecture of its traditional houses.

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Marselus Esbi

Marselus Esbi, 35, never expected he would again deal with coffee, a commodity that in the past had supported him and his family. After years of living on the resort island of Bali, he eventually returned to Flores Island, promoting his home village of Wae Rebo as a hidden producer of coffee.

Marselus, popularly known as Marsel, is aware that Wae Rebo, located in the inner part of Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara, has become known over the past decade for its natural beauty and the architecture of its traditional houses. But long before tourism became popular, coffee had been a source of income for the local people.

However, the coffee from Wae Rebo, located in the district of West Satarmese, has for years been sold only in the local market and at a low price.

Making use of his background in tourism, Marsel wanted to promote tourism in his home village to boost the commodity of Wae Rebo.

“The local people share the same idea. With the growing number of visitors, we see potential in coffee to support tourism,” said Marsel, who is also a manager of the Culture Conservation Agency (LPB) Wae Rebo, the agency that deals with tourisms in the area, located 1,200 meters above sea level.

Marsel’s role is simple yet hard. He is responsible for the management of tourism in Wae Rebo. Marsel is popular among tourists visiting Wae Rebo. Along with the customary village leader, he welcomes guests arriving at the Wae Rebo customary house. He also has to make sure coffee is available for the tourists staying there.

Welcome drink

For tourists, sipping Wae Rebo coffee has become the second ritual after attending a welcome ceremony at the customary house (mbaru gendang). A cup of Black Arabica expresses the friendliness of Wae Rebo villagers. “Please taste it while it is warm. Coffee is the best after a long trip,” said Marsel, who served the coffee in small glasses.

After graduating from the tourism vocational school in the capital city of Manggarai regency, Marsel went to Bali. He changed jobs several times, but most of his work was related to tourism. After 10 years of working in Bali, he faced a hard decision. Stay in Bali or return home to take care of the local coffee industry.

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Marselus Esbi

“In 2014, I went home. After all, coffee has allowed me and my siblings to attend school,” Marsel, the fifth of six siblings, said in early February.

For Marsel, a graduate of tourism school, serving coffee is not only an expression of gratitude to tourists but also a promotional activity. “The tourists are expected to help promote Wae Rebo coffee,” he said.

Marsel believes Wae Rebo coffee is unique, because it is grown in an exotic tourist site in traditional ways. The coffee plantations, covering an area of 200 hectares, belong to 118 families. The plantation area starts behind people’s backyards and extends 3 kilometers to the slope of the hill.

Local farmers grow two types of coffee, Robusta and Arabica. They do not use chemical fertilizers. Instead, they make use of dried grass and leaves as organic fertilizers.

Due to promotional activities and cooperation with nongovernmental organization Infest, producers are willing to buy the Wae Rebo coffee. In 2015 and 2016, agreements were signed between Wae Rebo farmers and coffee producers in West Java. A café owner in Bandung, Adi, bought 16 tons of coffee in 2015 and 6 tons in 2016. The coffee is sold in dried hard skin (HS) at Rp 12,000 per liter.

That is twice the price of green beans at Dintor Market, a local market some 7 km from Wae Rebo. Local farmers need to carry the coffee on foot for 5 km.

Under the cooperation, Marsel and Infest members have helped local farmers process the coffee since 2014. The farmers have to make sure to pick only the ripe, red fruits and put them into proper containers. They have also built 10 greenhouses to accelerate the drying process.

Marsel acknowledged it was not easy to change the farming patterns of the local people. For a long time, local farmers had failed to process the coffee properly. They would mix red and green beans and dry the beans on dirty ground.

Marsel used a personal approach through customary gatherings, asking farmers to process coffee properly to get the best price. Eventually, that will contribute to the farmers’ welfare.

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Marselus Esbi

Coffee tourism

Aside from just selling raw beans, Wae Rebo farmers are producing ground coffee in packs since 2014. However, Marsel said, the volume of coffee production was still low. The packed coffee was produced by women under LPB Wae Rebo.

There are several types of ground coffee offered in packs of 250 grams, such as Kopi Luwak (civet coffee) offered at Rp 100,000 and Robusta and Arabica offered at Rp 60,000 each. The coffee is sold under the Wae Rebo Coffee brand.

Recently, Marsel and executive members of LPB Wae Rebo initiated a coffee tourism package called the Journey of a Cup of Coffee. The tourism package is offered during harvest season from June-September. The package introduces tourists to the life of coffee farmers in Wae Rebo. They get a chance to pick coffee berries, harvest the beans, dry them and process them into cups of coffee.

“This package is being developed. Tourists are beginning to get interested in it,” Marsel said.

Coffee has proven to boost tourism in Wae Rebo. LPB Wae Rebo recorded 5,000 tourists in 2016, and the number increased to 7,000 people last year, with total transactions amounting to Rp 2 billion, mostly for accommodation in Wae Rebo.

For Marsel, coffee and tradition are two elements of local wisdom in Wae Rebo that have been preserved until today. The combination of the two in tourism could help boost the attraction of the village located among the hills.

(Videlis Jemali)

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Marselus Esbi

Born: Wae Rebo, March 11, 1983

Wife: Maria Stefani Edan, 33

Education: Tourism Vocational School in Manggarai (2003)

Job: Manager of Wae Rebo Culture Conservation Agency