South Sudan - Equatoria

Produced by Equatoria, this is Shiloh's first South Sudan coffee, and also the first for our supplier, Omwani Coffee.

Equatoria are working to generate revenue for their local communities of Nzara and Yambio County via the production of teak and coffee. Providing farmers with the training and seedlings to grow both crops, Equatoria are building upon a history of teak and coffee cultivation that was destroyed during civil conflicts.

Because Nzara and Yambio are located at lower laying lands than is preferable for growing Arabica, Equatoria have chosen to cultivate Robusta and Excelsa coffee, the latter of which has been genetically linked to wild growing coffee trees that were sampled in 1919. Excelsa holds particular prominence for its potential as a climate, pest and disease resistant alternative to Arabica that can be grown at the same altitudes as Robusta.

Coffee production in Western Equatoria State dates back decades but was severely disrupted during the Second Sudanese Civil War in the 1980s.

Recognising the region’s potential, Equatoria Coffee began planting coffee in 2018 as a way for local farmers increase the frequency of their income. While the larger company’s agricultural product, teak wood, takes 25 years to cultivate and harvest, coffee can be harvested every year after just 3 years of maturation, acting as an annual source of revenue if grown by local farmers.