Travellers's Note

Farmers in Dak Ha District of Kon Tum Province, one of Vietnam’s largest coffee growing areas, are busy harvesting coffee cherries.

Dak Ha district is one of the largest coffee growing regions in Vietnam, located about 20 km north of downtown Kon Tum.The Central Highlands has been dubbed as the Kingdom of Coffee, earning Vietnam second place among the worlds top coffee exporters after Brazil.

Dak Ha District, about 20 kilometers north of downtown Kon Tum in the Central Highlands, boasts over 9,000 hectares of coffee trees, which thrive due to the suitable local climate and soil conditions.
The Central Highlands has been dubbed ‘Kingdom of Coffee’, earning Vietnam second place among the world’s top coffee exporters after Brazil.
Dubbed the capital of coffee in Kon Tum, Dak Ha has an area of over 9,000 hectares of coffee trees. Most locals grow coffee cherries due to suitable climate and soil conditions. Between November and December is the busy harvest season for locals to harvest coffee cherries there. The original cherries are reddish but after more than two weeks, they are all ripe.However, this year, due to the impacts of tropical storms in November, the water level in the Dak Pxi River has risen, forcing some households to harvest early to prevent coffee cherries falling.

The typical harvest season lasts from November to the end of December. However, this year, due to the impact of tropical storms in November, the water level in Dak Pxi River has risen, forcing some households in the district to harvest early to prevent coffee cherries rotting.
A worker comes to his garden to harvest coffee cherries.

The joy reminiscent of harvest season.
The flavor of fresh red ripe coffee cherries also attracts monkeys to come to seek food.

The flavor of fresh red coffee cherries attracts foraging monkeys.
Coffee a a major crop that brings high economic value, contributing to creating jobs and improving the lives of local residents. Coffee production has contributed greatly to Vietnam’s economic transformation in the post Doi Moi (renovation) period since 1986. Vietnam is now the second largest coffee exporter in the world after Brazil.

Coffee production has contributed greatly to Vietnam’s economic transformation since Doi Moi (reform) was introduced in 1986, contributing to job creation and the improvement of local livelihoods.
Nguyen Ngoc Thai who made the photo collection, said that his family also grows coffee and hires workers to pick up cherries and their salary will be paid based on weights, with about VND70,000 - 80,000 per quintal. Working hard, workers can pick 3 - 4 quintals of coffee cherries a day.

Nguyen Ngoc Thai, author of this photo collection, said his family also grows coffee and hires cherry pickers, each paid about VND70,000 – 80,000 ($3-4) per quintal. Working hard, harvesters each could pick 3 to 4 quintals of coffee cherries a day.
After workers pick up coffee cherries when they put them into bags. At the end of the day, a truck come to carry bags of cherries home.

At the end of the day, a tractor transports the bags of coffee cherries home.
Then, locals dry coffee cherries at their yard under the scorching sun. Most coffee-growing families have their own yards to serve for drying coffee. On peak days of the harvest season , people also take advantage of space in the garden and outside the alley to dry coffee cherries on canvas.

Most coffee-growing families have their own yards in which cherries are dried.
Plantation workers rake drying coffee cherries before they are taken away for roasting during the harvest season. Depending on weather conditions, drying process can last around a week.

Harvesters rake together drying coffee cherries before they are taken away for roasting. Depending on weather conditions, the drying process can last around a week.
When it is less sunny, many families have switched to the method of drying coffee with a drying oven to save more time.

When it is less sunny, many families switch to drying coffee in a special oven to save time.
Dried coffee beans are rubbed with a coffee milling machine that rempves parchment to give coffee beans finished products.. And finally store the beans in sacks, place in a cool and dry place and wait until roasting time.With coffee growers in Dak Ha District, the coffee harvest season is bustling, but also very hard,said Thai.

Dried coffee beans pass through a mill to remove impurities before being stored in a cool and dry place until roasting time.
“In Dak Ha District, the coffee harvest season is a bustling, but also very hard labor period,” Thai said.
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