This exceptional coffee is exported through Asnakech Thomas, one of Ethiopia’s few women miller/exporters (if not the only one). In 2005, Asnakech returned to Ethiopia and her home region of Amaro to help improve the quality of coffee and living conditions in her community. The Amaro Mountains are a small range separating the communities of Amaro, to the east, and the Nechisar National Park and lowland tribal areas of Arba Minch, in southwestern Sidamo. Local coffee varieties, a relatively light population, waterfalls and highland bamboo forests add to the area’s beauty and uniqueness.
The Amaro farm is involved in training farmers in the area to increase their yields and quality. It has also set up a women-in-coffee association—the first organization of its kind in the area. The farm has also created and sponsored the Amaro Gayo Football Team, a junior soccer football team for the youth in the area, and funds the purchase of books and laptops in neighboring schools. Realizing the gravity of climate change and its impact on the surrounding regions, the Amaro farm also took the initiative of encouraging farmers to plant more trees and is paying incentives for every tree planted.