Shade farming is the kind of farming in which the crop is planted and is grown under a canopy of trees. It not only aids in filtering the sunlight hitting the plant but also aids the forming of better and new ecological relationships.
Coffee in India is largely shade-grown. It creates better natural ecological relationships between different plants and trees and also creates a home for some animal and bird species, nourishing that relationship as well. Here at Aromas of Coorg we understand the need for these relationships and the mere idea of Co-Existence.
Our Coffee is shade-grown. It is grown among many trees like the Silver Oak, Red Cedar, Jackfruit, Teak Wood, Butter fruit, Orange, Mango and Rose-wood. This gives for not just the existence of Coffee in the world but also so many more trees and plants that are an asset to Mother Nature. This mixture of a beautiful canopy of trees and our coffee plantation makes home for multiple animals and birds like the Great Indian Pied Hornbill and the Giant Malabar Squirrel.
Shade Farming becomes an incredible method for having practices that increase sustainability in the environment. In a world, where we are losing species after species of the universe’s beautiful children, shade farming is the sure shot method that hits right at the target. It increases various other ecological activities like pollination, species diversity and the like.
The Carbon that is existent in these shade farming plantations are usually stored in the trunks, branches and leaves of the trees, inhibiting the carbon from reaching the above atmosphere and thereby inhibits global warming.
The process of Shade-Farming allows the process itself to act as a means for pest control due to the presence of various species which gives way to new food chains or food webs which are quite complex. As a result of these food webs, the tiny insects that may affect the plantation itself are erased from the equation. This automatically leads to better and a higher quality produce which leads to better and higher quality cups of coffee.
At Aromas of Coorg, we practice methods that strive towards and promote an Eco-Friendly Environment. All of our coffee is shade-grown and this also adds to the taste and the quality of the coffee itself. The filtered sunlight that graces our coffee plants, adds a unique taste to our coffee, making each cup of coffee a rich, blissful, eco-friendly, piquant cup that is roasted and blended, just for you.
– Rakshita Sridharan
