In the early 1990s, the late Kallam Anji Reddy, founding member of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, recruited development economist Manoj Kumar to lead his non-governmental organization, the Naandi Foundation. Kumar’s mission was to promote long-term employment in rural areas. From leading Naandi Foundation to building the first Araku Cafe and store in Paris in 2017, Kumar has come a long way.
Kumar’s quest to promote specialty coffee from a small region like Araku Valley has motivated many people, especially youngsters, to look for authentic ideas to build start-ups that focus on Indian authenticity. Araku established its first coffeehouse in India on March 19. This cafeteria in Bengaluru’s Indira Nagar neighborhood includes an in-house production plant, the nation’s first Gourmet Coffee Association-certified Coffee Center, a public library, and responsibly farmed cuisine.
His Contributions to the growth of sustainable coffee
Among the various programs Kumar began in the early 2000s was training Adivasi producers in Andhra Pradesh’s Araku Valley to cultivate gourmet coffee, which is essentially natural and ecologically produced coffee of the finest grade. Several people thought it was an impossible task. Araku was not a typical coffee-growing area. Kumar, who was born and raised in Kerala sipping Kattan kaapi, a traditional home-brewed black coffee, knew nothing of coffee; and the Araku Valley was already plagued by Naxal violence for years.
Kumar engaged with and resided with many tribals for nearly a decade. With the help of organic gardening and the development of Adivasi cooperation, he went on to start one of the world’s largest fair-trade and sustainably grown coffee unions, he accomplished the near impossible.
Araku’s specialty projects have enhanced the sector’s growth, unity, and ecology. The early years of a global coffee brand began when Araku Valley’s underprivileged communities took control of their destiny. It’s an experience worth learning about and appreciating. Coffee professionals from India and elsewhere came to assist, intrigued by the narrative of Araku. They conferred widely on how to cultivate the nicest cherries in order to produce the quality coffee available—Speciality coffee. These farmers now adopt the best sustainable farming principles.
