Amruthavarshini

Situated in Aldur Hobli district of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, is Amruthavarshini, a coffee farm that has been women-owned and operated for the last 20 years. ‘Varshini’ means ‘showers’ in Sanskrit and is the name for the Rain Goddess in India. The name of the farm, ‘Amruthavarshini’ means ‘Rain of immortal nectar’ and honors the vital, skillful and nurturing role that women and water play in the coffee journey from bean to cup. The farm dates back to the early 1900s when it was all one large family owned farm for about 70 years. The farm was portioned off as it was passed on to the next generation and eventually, some of those portions were sold to people outside of the family.  This is how present day Amruthavarshini came to be under the ownership of Ms. Poornima Jairaj.  

Poornima Jairaj is a first generation coffee farmer with a professional background that is illustrious and diverse. She began her career in the banking industry as a programmer and then moved into a career path as a Venture Capitalist. However, 10 years later she felt the need to have a wider impact and though she didn’t realize it at the time, this is where her tryst with the coffee industry truly began. Education and institution building appealed to Ms Jairaj, and soon she was co-founding the Amber Valley Residential School and the SVGH Vocational college in Chikmagalur, with the intention of providing the children in the surrounding coffee growing regions with a quality education. She then bought Amruthavarshini in 2004 and actively started managing it 6 years later. She formally stepped away from her educational responsibilities in 2022, and has since then been dedicated to the farm full time. Today, Ms Jairaj operates the farm under the guidance of her trusted advisor of 6 years, Ms. Sunalini Menon.

Amruthavarshini grows both Arabica and Robusta varieties of coffee, with Arabica accounting for 70% of the produce. Some of the varieties are suitable for specialty coffee processing. Like other coffee farms across the region, the coffee plants at Amruthavarshini are interspersed with trees like wild fig, avocado, jackfruit, lemon, mango, orange, pomelo, star fruit, and guava to non fruit bearing trees like teak, garge, hathi, rosewood,  silver oak and halwaan entwined with pepper vines. 

Sustainability is a constant work in progress on the farm with many implementations and ongoing projects. To begin with, the farm uses an Eco washer and pulper similar to a lot of the farms in the surrounding area. In addition to this, Ms Jairaj has a handful of other ongoing projects that promote sustainability on the farm. Amruthavarshini now has a small dairy that develops composting to allow for regenerative agriculture and a solar powered pulper house and drying yard. In addition to this, the farm is currently running a pilot project collecting coffee grounds from restaurants to add to the compost used for the coffee plants. They have  also been actively planting fruit and native trees to replace the silver oak as they are better at helping with soil regeneration. Ms Jairaj and team are developing more natural varieties of coffee that not only add to the specialty coffee basket but also help save water and can detoxify polluted water. For the future Ms Jairaj envisions a bio converter on the farm. This will help reduce the amount of methane released into the environment as it will convert agricultural and animal waste into cooking gas for the labor quarters while providing organic compost for the plants.

Stem borers, coffee leaf rust and coffee leaf miner are the main pests in this region and the farm uses a mix of chemical, organic sprays and pheromones, along with some preventive methods to keep them at bay. The specialty coffee revolution has prompted Ms Jairaj and her team to dive deeper into their farming practices and analyze the effects of their fertilizers and processing techniques. They also use the advisory services of the Coffee Board of India and the CCRI, and partner with like minded farmers to grow their expertise. There is also an abundance of wildlife on the farm ranging from wild animals to a wide variety of birds. The wild boars and the monkeys can sometimes cause damage on the farm, but for the most part the animals coexist in harmony.

Amruthavarshini takes pride in the wellbeing of its workers. The farm employs both regular and seasonal/migratory workers. The work week is from Sunday to Friday, with Saturday being Santhe (market) day. Workers use this day to get supplies for the week and to socialize. Payments are made weekly and before Santhe day. The farm adheres to local labor laws and workers are paid above minimum wages. They also have access to housing, medical facilities, free water and electricity. Whenever required the farm also provides monetary support in the form of simple loans. In keeping with their commitment to being a women owned and operated farm, Amruthavarshini contributes to the IWCA, International Women’s Coffee Alliance - India Chapter, programs that focus on education, nutrition, health  and elder Care for workers and their families. It also provides assistance for major medical issues particularly for female children of the workers.

Ms Jairaj hopes to continue growing her relationship with specialty roasters in India and abroad. Her vision is to promote and care for a natural ecosystem while offering top quality coffee in an ethical and sustainable manner. She enjoys working alongside the women and their families on the farm and strives for inclusivity emphasizing the role of women in the nurturing process of the coffee plants. At some point in the future Ms Jairaj is hoping to add a Rainforest Alliance certification to Amruthavarshini. Kaveri Coffee is honored to partner with Amruthavarshini and their superior quality coffee which is a testament to post harvest coffee processes that are innovative and refined. The care and attention that is given to the coffee growing process and the overall well being of the farm workers shines through the quality of their coffee.