The search for a solution to these problems, alighted them to the idea of starting a coffee plantation. However, they realized that this endeavour couldn't be just about setting up a plantation, but also needed to factor the challenges thrown their way by climate change. It is this search that led them to a hybrid coffee plant called ‘Lak Perakum’. The uniqueness of the plant is that it has to be planted at an altitude of over 2,400 feet above sea level, and is created to survive the effects of climate change.
“This land was previously an elders’ home and had been vacant for more than 30 years”, says Pradeep. Through the ‘Climate Change Adaptation Project’, with support from the District and Regional Secretaries, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pradeep was able to transform the land for coffee cultivation. The villagers then banded together into a ‘Coffee Plantation Society’, which began with 55 people. Currently, 14 families are involved in the society.
At first, they started a ‘nursery’ using 75kg of coffee donated by the project. Today, there are about 100,000 coffee plants of which about 75,000 can be sold immediately and another 15,000 available for selling once they reach maturity.