Who is the coffee bean that aims to reforest Northern mountains, rescue endangered Asian elephants, and become a fair trade product for the Karen community? Meet with ENP Coffee Co., a non-profit coffee bean production by Elephant Nature Park!
Located about 60 kilometers from Chiang Mai, Elephant Nature Park is recognized internationaly as the most responsible animal sanctuary in the region. The park has rescued more than 200 elephants from the tourism and logging industries since its inception in the 1990s. At Elephant Nature Park, volunteers and visitors have the opportunity to interact with more than 70 elephants across the 250-acre grounds. They can experience feeding the elephants, watch them play in the river, and sometimes follow them on jungle trecks.
Now, the park also produces it’s own coffee brand which can be tasted and bought at the park, as well as in their Chiang Mai office (near Thapae Gate) and online. 100% of the profits of ENP Coffee Co. directly support Elephant Nature ParK and their many projects.
ENP Coffee Co. is grown at en elevation over 1,000 meters, high in the hills of Chiang Mai. The Karen community shade-grows Caturra and Catimor varieties that are water processed and sun dried. The coffee is then processed and roasted by the villagers.
Why is shade-grown technique so important?
With coffee being the second most traded commodity in the world, the ways in which coffee is cultivated do matter. Shade grown coffee is a more traditional approach, it mimics the natural way coffee used to grow underneath a forest canopy. Because it incorporates principles of natural ecological relationships, shade-grown coffee can be considered an offshoot of agricultural permaculture. By purchasing shade-grown coffee, you are supporting Healthy Forests.
Why the Karen People?
Set high in the hills of northern Thailand are many different minority groups. Karen people are one of them. The men like to work with the elephants and they are also used to working in harmony with land. ENP Coffee Co. provides the women of the Karen community a fair trade work. Coffee trees have been given by Elephant Nature Park to volunteers. They are grown with the careful knowledge of the Karen people, without the use of unnatural chemicals. It also plays a huge role in the health of a self-sustaining
economy while providing empowerment for women to work in their communities.
ENP Coffee Co. is more than just caffeinatee, it’s about helping endangered species, casting for a sustainable way of agriculture and preserving local communities, homes and ecosystems. Stop by for a delicious cup or grab a take away from their Chiang Mai office; it is only located 200 meters from Thapae Gate.
ELEPHANT NATURE PARK Office in Town:
1 Rachamankha Road. Phra Singh. Chiang Mai.
Tel. 053-272 855
www.elephantnaturepark.org
