Community Engagement in Sheda Kebele Strengthens Coffee Seedling Efforts and Prepares for Vermicompost Training

A community engagement meeting was recently held in Sheda Kebele to assess the progress of coffee seedling planting and to prepare for upcoming vermicompost training. The event brought together women coffee producers, their spouses, and local leaders from the Woreda and Kebele administrations, underscoring the collaborative spirit of the initiative.

Participants confirmed that the coffee seedlings distributed earlier this season by the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), with support from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), have been successfully planted. Farmers are actively caring for the seedlings and expressed appreciation for the continued technical and material support provided under the Empowering Ethiopian Coffee: A South-South Approach to Climate Finance and Carbon Credits project.

In addition to coffee plants, the project has recently distributed 3,000 tree seedlings—comprising Albizia, Mellittia, and avocado varieties—to be established as shade trees for coffee. These will play a crucial role in improving soil fertility, enhancing biodiversity, and ensuring long-term sustainability of coffee agroforestry systems.

Farmers also conveyed their eagerness to learn about vermicomposting, which will be introduced in the coming months. Vermicompost, an organic fertilizer produced using earthworms, is expected to significantly boost soil health, reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers, and increase coffee productivity.

Local leaders commended the initiative for empowering women farmers and integrating sustainable land management practices with household livelihoods. They emphasized that such activities contribute not only to improved coffee yields but also to Ethiopia’s broader climate resilience and reforestation goals.

This engagement marks another milestone in the Sheda pilot, where 100 women coffee producers and their families are pioneering a coffee-based carbon credit scheme under the Plan Vivo Standard. By combining agroforestry, organic soil management, and community training, the project is building a model for inclusive, climate-smart coffee production that benefits both people and the environment.