Pin Khun | Myanmar

 International Women's Day 2023 

This International Women’s Day, we want to recognise the women who make our coffee possible and support their economic empowerment and social development.

This filter is from Myanmar where our partner Behind The Leaf employs women from the surrounding township to process coffee sourced from nearby farms and for the next two weeks we will be donating £5 from every sale of our coffees from Myanmar.

This year Behind The Leaf have been focussing on a singular initiative, their 'Coffee Drying/Vegetable Growing' bunk bed system. Implemented in 2019 the innovative solution means BTL's, mainly female, workforce can plant and cultivate fruits, greens and vegetables under the raised mesh beds where coffee is placed during drying season. Allowing for a more circular approach to the available space, this system was an instant success. In the middle of the pandemic, when things were uncertain and livelihoods for many in the villages was dire, the harvest from the bunk beds was kept in a freezer for nearby villages, instead of being sent to the markets to provide for the community.

The economic downturn in Myanmar has been far-reaching and devastating. More and more families have moved into the surrounding villages looking for work. BTL have used their harvest to provide for the new families struggling to make ends meet. More food was harvested this past year with less left to go to seed in order to meet demand and BTL even produced thousands of ceramic water filters to ensure many of the new faces in the community had access to clean water as well.

"The needs all around us are overwhelming and these are really difficult times, but we are doing our best" says Melanie of BTL, "I’m still amazed at how this challenge brought so many people together. I have loved seeing the Christian and Buddhist communities working together. The hearts of the people are golden."

But the year is not over, the staff at BTL are turning the coffee waste from processing into beautiful compost for the gardens. The rains will start in May and they will need to be ready to plant more vegetables. The work never ends.

Notes has followed Behind The Leaf's story for over 5 years, watching with amazement as their coffee community has grown from a business to a community with the aim of bettering livelihoods at the centre of their ethos. We are privileged to consider them our partners, to showcase their hard work through the coffee and to give back again this year for International Women's Day.

 About Pin Khun 

Pin Khun is a village in the Pinlaung Township, it is the last village we collect coffee cherries from in the Pinlaung, on the way to Kayah State. The region is only 13 miles away from Behind estate but takes 45 minutes to drive there.

Behind the Leaf has been buying coffee cherries from them since the beginning of 2016, although, at the start of last year, a Chinese middleman came and set up in their village to buy and process coffee from that area, due to the popularity of the region and the great coffee the small families have been producing. Behind the Leaf had to pay really high prices again to be able to get the good, ripe cherry from the village community.

More and more middlemen are coming to the area, but the good news is because the price for cherry is so high, more and more farmers are planting coffee. U Myo is the name of the man who is the buyer of Behind the Leaf in that village, his house and little shop are across the street from the rotating 5-day market in Pin Khun village, his mom is in her 80s and watches the shop when he is away. 

 Tasting Notes 

Violet | Marzipan | Red Berries