When the Pingtung Indigenous People's Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives was established in 2013, it clearly positioned itself "to strive the greatest value for the tribe people." Consequently, the counseling agency advised them to adopt the unique operating model of "Cooperative Economy."
A cooperative is a legal entity formed by economically disadvantaged individuals based on shared needs in life or business, operating on a spirit of equality and mutual benefit, using cooperative methods to jointly manage their businesses. Its spirit lies in joint operation and external contracting, and it is also a type of enterprise.
Mr. Hua Wei-jie, CEO of Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives, explained that one of the benefits of "Cooperative Economy" is price protection. If a wholesaler offers a price higher than the cooperative's purchase price, the member farmers sell their coffee to the wholesaler; if the market price falls, the farmers can sell to the cooperative at the agreed price. Second, the Cooperatives guide the farmers who joined the coffee industry for group prosperity, not to build an individual brand. Therefore, it focuses on establishing standardized production processes, developing specialty products that incorporate indigenous elements, and adopting a sustainable tourism business model that preserves tribal culture. It's the unique "Leveling" practice of Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives, which built both a brand and benefited the farmers.

Building an International-level Organic Coffee Post-Processing Plant in a Rural Township
Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives view talent as the core value of its sustainable development during the preparation period. Therefore, it proactively applied the "Multi-Employment Promotion Program (MEPP)" of the Ministry of Labor and received proper staff support in the first year. Later, it further applied the "Empowering Employment Program (EEP)." For the project staff training, the cooperative focuses on mid-stage coffee bean post-processing and the cup production marketing skills in the final stage.
In the mid-stage of the coffee processing, the cooperatives have over 40 hectares of contracted coffee cultivation area. Most of these lands are planted with the precious "Typica" coffee, a century-old coffee variety from the Japanese colonial period. It's one of the oldest coffee varieties, highly sought by foreign coffee bean buyers.
Mr. Hua Wei-jie, who has international trade, business management, and marketing backgrounds, decided that to operate the tribe's coffee industry sustainably, the Cooperatives' products must sell domestically and internationally. Therefore, the priority is to align its processing methods and production equipment with international standards. Thus, Mr. Hua led his team to build Taiwan's first coffee post-processing plant that meets international processing standard and it is the only plant that provides "organic coffee post-processing verification." The decision is expected to be a win-win-win situation.

Stabilized the Coffee Farmers' Livelihood:
Especially after Taiwan's first Coffee Trade Center was established in the plant in 2017, all the coffee farmers could sell their coffee beans there. No matter how the market price changed, the farmers could earn a certain profit through a clear level and fair auction system.
Accelerating Barista Training:
Mr. Hua roughly calculated that with 30 different coffee varieties, 3 post-processing methods, 5 roasting levels, and 5 coffee equipment brewing methods, there are more than 2,000 possible flavor combinations. The cooperatives integrated the post-processing that allows the baristas to have more coffee-making opportunities, accelerating their skills and shortening the learning curves. It also enables the baristas to quickly accumulate experience hours, allowing them to better utilize the characteristics of each coffee bean to bring out its optimal flavor.
The Cooperatives imported professional post-processing equipment and trained the project staff from scratch, including Fresh Coffee Cherries harvesting, post-processing, roasting, and shipping. The entire process must comply with organic processing certification standards.
The project staff are mostly returning hometown young indigenous. For them, coffee is the most promising career path for local workers, so let's go for it! The result was amazing too! In 2015, Ms. Lin Kai-lin won the "2016 Pingtung Coffee Carnival" roasting competition with only 3 years of coffee experience. (See the interview below.)
Align With International Standards:
The Cooperatives' vision represents the partnership of the environment and the tribe. Because all the members are the shareholders and co-sharing the benefits and risks. Therefore, as climate warming forces coffee trees to migrate to a higher latitude, the Cooperatives adhering to the principle of not depleting forest and water resources persuaded a few members to try planting the internationally recognized drought-resistant and disease-resistant variety SL34. "We saw the conclusions from the international journals and conferences that the international coffee industry is transforming and accepting the laboratory-bred coffee varieties. For our members' future, increasing production while maintaining biodiversity and fulfilling carbon credit functions is more important than preserving native coffee varieties." Therefore, the Cooperatives have purchased and transplanted the SL34 coffee seedlings overseas and are conducting experiments and continuously optimizing the planting method with all the members to keep up with international trends.

Hiring 20 Disadvantaged Project Staff and Improving the Production Method for More Than 20 Coffee Farmers
To view the last part in marketing. After Taiwu gained fame in its coffee industry, Mr. Hua Wei-jie planned to integrate Paiwan tribal cultural elements into the coffee industry, combining the culture with leisure tourism. Through the guided tours and handmade DIY experiences to instill green awareness and sustainable tourism to every mind of the tourists.
For example, the EEP staff designed various types of experiential workshops, such as the "Mud to Mouth" coffee birth tour, taking the tourists to experience a cup of coffee during the harvest season from September to the next March. The tour takes people to pick up Fresh Coffee Cherries on the mountain, followed by a hands-on coffee-making experience at the park, including cupping. Alternatively, visitors could learn about the Paiwan people, visiting their stone houses and learning about their hand-printing art, culminating in a chieftain's harvest meal or a hunter's set meal.
Reflecting on the 12-year journey from nothing to everything, Mr. Hua cited some examples of the achievements. The Cooperatives has conducted over 120 professional coffee courses to serve more than 10 townships, assisting over 20 coffee farmers in improving their production or sales results, and training more than 10 seed instructors who have obtained international coffee technology certifications.
In addition to employing more than 10 full-time or part-time female employees, the Cooperatives also employ over 20 disabled workers. It even allocates a portion of its annual surplus as scholarships for the members' children. The Cooperatives also purchased and co-sold accessories from five local disadvantaged or charitable organizations nearby to jointly boost the local economy.
The Cooperatives are currently promoting the "Adopt an Organic Coffee Plantation" program for external enterprises. The approach involves external companies prepaying for the coffee products. Once the transaction is finalized, the farmers can concentrate more on cultivating organic coffee without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. This protects not only the environment and soil but also allows farmers to cultivate carbon-absorbing plants, which indirectly makes their corporate clients contribute to the environment more.
With advanced equipment and a group of young people who are willing to explore new markets, "the Empowering Employment Program (EEP) is the backbone of Taiwu Township's organic specialty coffee industry." Mr. Hua hopes, "we'll continue to improve with a dedicated attitude. Our short-term goal is to become a technical expert; in the long term, transforming into a social enterprise can be a vision that all staff strive to achieve."
Office Facebook Page of Pingtung Indigenous People's Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives

▲Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives has conducted over 120 professional courses, assisting over 20 coffee farmers and 100 returning young farmers, and training more than 10 seed instructors to obtain international coffee technology certifications.

▲The Cooperatives focus on mid-stage coffee bean post-processing and final-stage cup production marketing skills.

▲The CEO, Mr. Hua Wei-jie: My original purpose in devoting myself to this industry is to develop a sustainable business that allows our children to have one more option. If they don't want to work out of the township, they can earn a living in their hometown.
 

Case Story: Multi-Employment Promotion and Empowering Employment Program
Interviewee: Pingtung Indigenous People's Taiwu Coffee Production Cooperatives

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