7 July
MY second trip to Chin State came two years after my first trip in 2016. This time, Haka, the town in the hills, was my destination, where I hoped to see their ongoing development projects.
The bus left Pakokku and headed towards Chin State’s Min-dat, passing along the Pakokku-Pauk-Pontaung-Ponnya route. Men and women are now upgrading the road, working under intense temperatures, but once our bus entered into Chin State, forests and mountains came into view.
I was excited to see the view of steep cliffs through the bus window.
Hornbill Chin Coffee in Mindat
In Mindat, Hornbill Chin Coffee Shop is the first stopover for me, as I rest and refresh myself.
To my surprise, the European style coffee shop and high-quality coffee in Mindat by was established by a young local entrepreneur named Salai Mar Hone. The young man, in his 30s, had the idea to open the coffee shop and to sell coffee from Chin State, after meeting with Myanmar Coffee Association Chairman U Ye Myint about 2014.
“I use only coffee grown in villages in Chin State,” said Salai Mar Hone, with pride. In the beginning, he faced obstacles in quickly receiving orders for coffee, as villagers were not familiar with the coffee harvest.
Later selling this coffee in the export market, he learned to turn such challenges into opportunities.
Last year, for instance, he exported about one tonne of coffee from Chin State to Switzerland. Also, an American coffee trader visited him last month, offering new opportunities.
“The American trader bought two kg of our coffee, and promised to come back after testing the quality of our coffee,” said Salai, hopeful for future sales of Chin State coffee.
In fact, this story is well-known among those who are aware of Chin State’s soil quality, which is highly favourable for coffee.
The grade of coffee from Chin State is rated above 96, while internationally, if a grade of coffee is above 80, it is consid-ered a special grade. This means coffee from Chin State is among the world’s top grades.
Additionally, I was surprised by one of his new products, wine made from Chin State coffee.
From coffee to elephant foot yam and avocado
Arriving in Matupi, I visited a six acre garden where elephant foot yam and av-ocado are thriving.
Pi Aa Kuem, a 65 year old woman who had nine children, is working alone in the garden taking care of the cash trees.
She has been working on this farm for over 30 years, along with her husband, who is now bedridden after suffering a stroke.
“I worked on this garden for 32 years. I have nine children. The income from this garden was enough to send all of my children to school and university, until they graduated,” said the woman. The elephant food yam and avocados are the major source of income for her family. Just from harvesting elephant foot yam, she earns some K4 million per year.
The quality of agricultural products from the state, such as coffee, elephant foot yam and avocado, are well-known and has potential for growth, if investments are made into modern growing, process-ing and better marketing techniques.
“I am happy to work in this garden,” said Pi Aa Kuem.
The Village of Bweli or Aung San Thuriya Taik Chun Village
My next stop was the village of Bweli, built by Captain Taik Chun, who is well-known as Capt. Aung San Thuriya Thura Taik Chon, renowned for his bravery in battle one year after independence in 1949, and later received the highest military award, the “Aung San Thuriya”.
The village, surrounded by hills, is located between Matupi and Sami towns.
“My father arrived in this village in 1966. His native village was Matupi. He noticed that this area has good soil and water, so he established this village,” said U Joseph, 56, the youngest son of Capt. Taik Chun. He is also retired from mili-tary service. There are some 40 houses in the village.
After saying goodbye to Daw Hmone Se, also known as Ma Chin, 87, wife of Aung San Thuriya Taik Chun and U Joseph, I continued on my trip to Haka, the town in the hill.
By Ye Khaung Nyun
Translated by Nat Ye Hla
