The Story of Meeka, Dogiyai Coffee, and the Story of Indonesian Coffee

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

Activities of residents in the Idakotu area, Dogiyai Regency, Papua, March 2018. This area is one of the coffee-producing centers in Papua.

"Hello, I am Meeka, or Meekabo! A Dogiyai original coffee nerd who is dreaming to introduce Dogiyai coffee to the eyes of the world,” Meeka greeted in a happy and cheerful manner.

That is the greeting to guests at the Instagram account @ Belift.Dogiyai that is given by Meeka, a 26-year-old coffee activist who was born in Dogiyai, Papua.

"I have a desire to sell 2,000 bags of coffee from Dogiyai, allocate 100 percent of the proceeds to Dogiyai farmers, and bring Dogiyai coffee to an exhibition in New Orleans, USA, in 2021," she said.

Meeka has been familiar with the world of coffee because she grew up in a coffee farmer environment. Deciding to return home in August 2020 after traveling to the world was a tough decision for her.

However, her father\'s advice always rings in her head. "Meeka Wae, you should not forget your origin. You are a Papuan daughter," said his father. Armed with her father\'s advice, Meeka made up her mind to return to Dogiyai and struggles to introduce coffee from her kampung of origin to Indonesia, even the world.

During the visit to the Belift.Dogiyai page, what Meeka uploads seems to be personal. There are coffee stories, daily life in Dogiyai, as well as reflections on going through the ups and downs of life and love. It is like exchanging news with friends.

The team that was founded in 2019 consists of young people who seek to empower Indonesian coffee farmers with market access, financial resources, and knowledge of the post-harvest process.

However, Meeka is an "avatar" or a fictional character designed by the Belift.Dogiyai team. The team that was founded in 2019 consists of young people who seek to empower Indonesian coffee farmers with market access, financial resources, and knowledge of the post-harvest process.

They are spread from Surabaya, Yogyakarta, to San Francisco, United States. Dozens of people are divided into three teams, namely a coffee roasting team in Surabaya, a media team to share stories on Instagram, and a team of local farmers in coffee producing areas.

The Belift.Dogiyai team works closely with local farmers. They do not just buy the farmers\' crops, but also invite them to interact. The coffee producing area selected for the first project is Dogiyai, as a collaboration between the Belift.Dogiyai team and a local farmer and activist, Hanok Harison Pigai, 36.

Dogiyai enters the harvest season in May-June and October-November with a production of 5-10 tons per year. Dogiyai coffee grown at an altitude of 1,200-1,600 meters above sea level faces marketing difficulty during the Covid-19 pandemic. A part of the coffee harvests at the end of 2019 still pile up, while the latest harvests are starting to come.

"A joint movement is a solution for the farmers when conditions are like this," said Hanok.

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

Residents in Modio, Central Mapia, Dogiyai regency, Papua carry agriculture products to nearby market through forests to reach a narrow suspension bridge over the Mapia River on Sunday (25/3/2018). The government planned to build wider bridge.

The Belift.Dogiyai team buys 500 kilograms of coffee and packs it with an online marketing strategy on social media. "Dogiyai is chosen not only because of the decreasing demand during the pandemic, but also because its market access has been closed. Dogiyai coffee is delicious, but no market access is available,” said one of the Belift.Dogiyai initiators, Ivan Leonardo Hartanto, 26. Dogiyai coffee is arabica coffee with a tomato flavor and a taste like black tea and chocolate. The coffee is cultivated without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The result is specialty grade coffee with a score of 81.25.

Hope from Dogiyai

Buyers of Dogiyai coffee from Belift.Dogiyai will receive coffee in packages which are accompanied by a "letter" from Meeka about information on the use of the proceeds from sales for farmers, and as funds to build a coffee processing plant in Dogiyai. There is also a sticker that reads "Sa Kawan Dogiyai. Ko?” or "I am a Friend of Dogiyai. You?"

The hope is that the stories and local wisdom of the Dogiyai people are preserved behind the neat packaging and the delicious dishes and its fragrance.

Meeka\'s character, although imaginary, was formed together with the Dogiyai farmers. The hope is that the stories and local wisdom of the Dogiyai people are preserved behind the neat packaging and the delicious dishes and its fragrance.

"We want to invite consumers to get more values. Not just buying coffee, but also getting stories and local culture behind the coffee," said Ivan.

Papua has been a well-known coffee producing region since the 1950s. In the Kopi Nusantara Exploration by Kompas in 2018, it was reported that the coffee was brought by the Dutch government or missionaries who served in Papua.

Hanok said that the Dogiyai coffee farmers have to walk one to three days from their village to Moanemani, the capital of Dogiyai regency. There are four coffee producing districts in Dogiyai, namely Piyaiye, Sukikai, Pona, and West Mapia. From Moanemani, the coffee is sent to Nabire by land for five hours, then to other areas by sea and air.

The proceeds from selling coffee through this campaign will be used to build drying facilities and a warehouse for storing the crops of the coffee farmers. The capacity is limited for 25 farmers out of around 1,000 farmers in Dogiyai. "Hopefully the results of this movement can provoke a government role in fostering farmers and advancing Dogiyai coffee," said Hanok.

DANIAL ADE KURNIAWAN

The process of cooling coffee beans after roasting coffee in Bomomani Pastor, Dogiyai Regency, Papua.

Hanok’s hopes are not empty hopes from Dogiyai. Similar hopes are also disclosed from Bengkulu by Hendarman, a coffee farmer, with the expectation that coffee management could be improved from the upstream and the downstream.

After Dogiyai, Belift.Dogiyai plans to promote specialty coffee from other producing regions, including Temanggung (Central Java) and Alam (South Sumatra), as well as East Nusa Tenggara.

In conjunction with the commemoration of International Coffee Day, which falls on Thursday (1/10/2020), one by one, coffee in the country is introduced along with the story behind it. Waiting for us to inhale the fragrance and sip the taste.