Nana Challa

Deep in western Ethiopia’s Jimma zone, past the town of Agaro, lies Genji Challa. A small administrative zone that took its name from a person called Challa – once the governor of this area. The farmers who first established Nano Challa – one of the most successful cooperatives in the area – chose this name as a sort of challenge or goal for themselves. Challa meaning is “we’ll do better than the rest of Challa”.

The farmers of Genji Challa

It’s easy to see why Nano Challa’s farmers set their sights high. Many of them are second or third-generation farmers in the area – the children of hardworking farming pioneers. Their parents and grandparents came here from more arid areas of the country years ago when the land around Genji Challa was still covered in untouched forest.

Used to tougher farming conditions, these tireless men and women first grew other crops – such as maize, sorghum, and teff – but found that it was difficult to make a living from their farms’ produce. They slowly moved to other cash crops such as khat (an herbal stimulant) and coffee. “Coffee pays you back for your work,” says Taddesse Worku, an octogenarian who has farmed in this area for close to four decades. But this was not always the case.