As a region, Dhankuta has a lot of potential for high quality coffee cultivation. It sits at 1,200m ASL, thickly forested with clear mountain streams. The cool climate and rich soils help to grow delicious specialty Arabica.
We have contributed to this environment by planting 10,000 coffee seedlings. They are shaded from direct sun by the mature, leafy oak and pine trees that grow here. We have a lot of other trees around our farm, including avocado, pear, mango, jackfruit, siris, and utis (Nepalese alder).
Our coffee flavour is fruity, and our specialty requirement exceeds the regular quality. We support local livelihoods and employ nine valued employees of which all are youth and four are women.
We have over 12,000 Typica and Bourbon coffee trees in their production prime. Our 7-ha farm has nutrient-enriched deep black and dark grey loam (a mix of sand and clay), highly suitable for coffee farming.
We have 451 famers in different districts but currently work closely with 50 small-scale farmers; 20 women and 46 youth. They average 10–1,000 trees per farm across 35 ha at 1,000–1,300m ASL. We provide them with training and guidance to benefit our long-term partnership.
Farmers also grow avocado, chili, banana, orange, garlic, onion, and turmeric, for nutrition and diversified incomes.
FARM
Farming sustainable, premium Arabica coffee
Our location
D.S. Agro Industries operates from seed to cup. We grow, source and process coffee, train the farmers and supply bio-organic fertilizer to coffee farmers for organic coffee production.
Our coffees are tendered by hand, with selective harvesting. They are meticulously graded, cleaned, pulped, fermented, and washed. They dry with the winds and air of our great mountains in the shade, stretched out on a tarpaulin.
We process fresh cherries at our two wash stations in Dhankuta-2 Ganeshtaar, Bhirgaun, and Dhankuta-5 Dhankuta City.
Some of our coffee is grown in more remote and mountainous regions with limited road access. These cherries are dried naturally as it is almost impossible to collect and process them within eight hours. The inaccessibility also makes transportation of red cherries a costly task.
Our supply chain
From our farm in Dhankuta, we look out onto other small-scale farms. From the mountains, we can see other majestic mountains of Kanchenjunga, Makalu, and Kumbhakarna.
D.S. Agro Industries is in a mountainous region. We collect water for our farm from Madhuganga River, a small but vital water source.
A large majority of the workers in D.S. Argo are of Rai, Chhetri and Limbu ethnicity. Dhankuta as a city is surrounded by Tomar caste which is also spelled Tomara or Tanwar.
