Ethiopia Duromina

Duromina was one of the first washing stations built in 2010 by a partnership between USAID and Technoserve to fund infrastructure development in the woreda (district) of Agaro. Coffees from this part of southwestern Ethiopia were traditionally sun-dried and sold in bulk under a generic regional name. Thanks to the partnership, and to the implementation of highly water-efficient Penagos pulping equipment at each site, the area’s networked washing stations now reliably produce distinctive, high-quality coffees that command higher prices for their farmers.

Today, Duromina is represented by the Kata Muduga union, which unlike most other unions in Ethiopia, works on commission—meaning 90 percent of the price paid returns directly to the cooperative, and by extension to the community. Thanks to growing membership and increasing profitability, Duromina’s farmers have been able to build infrastructure benefiting the entire region.