Rampur (Palpa), Jan 25: Several people made me a character of mockery while I used to roam around the villages with coffee in a bag for sale. I had to face misbehave with people’s demeaning remarks like ‘wandering here and there for coffee sale after not obtaining any concrete to do’. Yet he did not let up the courage in himself and kept on reaching out to the village for the promotion of coffee. Now the situation has changed, customers turn up my home for buying coffee.
This is the story of young Prem Bahadur Singh Thakuri, a resident of Palpa Rampur Municipality-5, Bhambak. He has transformed his identity through coffee business. Some five years ago, he did not even think he would establish his name in the society through coffee business. At present, his identity is not merely limited to Prem Bahadur, a coffee entrepreneur and coffee brother of many.
With the increasing supply of coffee not only to the villages, cities and urban areas of Nepal but also to foreign lands, he has gained courage and determination to sustain the business. He has registered a business in the name of ‘Organic Tea and Coffee’ and is operating it by installing a processing machine at his own house.
Currently, Prem Bahadur has been exporting coffee to Japan, Korea, Germany, UAE and Malta. The coffee, according to him, is being supplied abroad with the help of friends traveling overseas. It is consumed in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Tansen and other markets. This year, around 100 kg of coffee has been exported to Korea, Japan, Germany, Malta and UAE.
“The coffee cultivated in the farmland near house gave a good yield, I started processing them but confused about where to sell the processed coffee. When I reached the doorsteps of the locals, many people made me a fun for this”, he recounted his story. “I had no know-how where to sell the produce, but did not lose courage. But today the families whom I used to approach for coffee sale yesteryears now are coming to buy coffee at my home”.
He further narrated, “if the products are of exquisite quality it may take time but a day market will definitely come to you with dividends”. The business would turn to be lucrative in a gradual manner if the customers and traders were well explained about the products, he said, explaining it be the secret of his entrepreneurial success.
He himself produces, buys and processes coffee and sends it to the market. Now he has started marketing the coffee stuffs after getting laboratorial test and certification from the Food and Quality Control Office, Bhairahawa.
Tea and coffee is sold in the market as per the price fixed by the Coffee Development Board. Prem Bahadur, who initiated cultivating coffee in five ropanis of land at Chapakot municipality-4, Lagda in Syangja district eight years ago, had expanded coffee farming to about 35 ropanis of land at Chapakot-7, Patsar of two years ago.
He started his coffee processing enterprises in 2078 BS and had invested a capital amounting around Rs 2.5 million. He has been producing seedlings, encouraging farmers to grow coffee in villages and providing coffee seeds to the locals.
Prem Bahadur is preparing to plant around 16,000 saplings in coming June-July. He shares his experience that selling seedlings is lucrative than doing business of the refined coffee. In a year, he is currently purchasing five quintals of his own produce and 13 quintals from the locals. Annually he is supplying a ton of processed coffee to the market.
According to Prem Bahadur, the demand for coffee from local hotels and restaurants is on the rise.
Customers who have bought and consumed once come again and again. Prem Bahadur used to work in a coffee company in Korea for eight years during his foreign employment. There he learned the skills of coffee production, processing and marketing.
He saw that the coffee produced in Gulmi was bought by the operator of the company he was working in, processed it in the name of Himalaya Gift and sold in the market. “With a belief that we can also produce coffee and do marketing at international level, I started farming coffee by bringing seeds from Gulmi”, he shared.
Prem Bahadur said the Rampur municipality has facilitated the marketing. He suggested the to stay in their own villages and do some business instead of going abroad. Municipality Mayor Raman Bahadur Thapa said that arrangements have been made for the sale of coffee in the gift house prepared by the municipality.
“We are facilitating entrepreneurs with various grant programmes, training and marketing. Narayan Prasad Gaire, chief of agriculture section, said that interest equivalent to Rs 1 million would be provided through the youth self-employment programme of Rampur Municipality this year.
