Bant Sawk Village

Bant Sawk is the village where it all started for Indigo Mountain co-op.

Bant Sawk, a new offering we’re honored to be adding to our current lineup from Indigo Mountain, holds a prominent place in Myanmar’s specialty scene. Started by head farmer Khun Saw Tun Aung (pictured right), and long before specialty coffee became popular in the region, he and his community have been leading the charge since 2014 – building on UNODC and USAID programs – to make an enduring model for local communities transitioning from poppy farming to specialty coffee. Their model, in turn, became the foundation that evolved into today’s Indigo Mountain co-op. The results are clear: in a village of 160 households, over 100 now grow specialty coffee.

About the origin:

Overall & Naturals Champion in 2019 Myanmar Coffee Cupping Competition
Elevation: 1,714masl (5,623 ft)
Ethnic groups: Pa-O
Production members: 6
Variety: Catuai, Caturra
Location: 20.693300, 97.307560
2023 availability: SOLD OUT 300kg (5 bags)

Village name & history

Located in the heart of the Hopong Region, Bant Sawk was originally founded by two Shan families as Want Sawk – “Want” translating to valley and “Sawk” meaning the corner of the mountain. With its location sitting between two mountains, the Lwel Mai and Mel Nel, the name stuck. It wasn’t until more Pa-O families settled and built a monastery, bringing the village closer together, where the head monk ultimately changed the name to Bant Sawk.

Today, a big part of the village’s story continues with specialty coffee. Bant Sawk farmers took the Myanmar cupping competition’s top prize in 2019, just two years after joining the Myanmar specialty community, and they haven’t slowed down since.

The people

As the tale goes, there was once a Weiza, or supernatual being, and a Dragon Mother who laid three eggs — one of which gave birth to the ethnic Pa-O people.

Today, the Pa-O make up the second largest ethnic group in Shan State. Their men and women are famous for their eye-catching turbans, which bring to life their fabled origin story. Pa-O women wear colorful headdresses to resemble the form of their Dragon Mother while Pa-O men drape theirs to the side to mimic their Weiza Father, whom many believe their people are all descendants of to this day.

Their community, however, is not originally from this mountainous region of Myanmar. They fled here nearly one thousand years ago after their coastal homeland, in modern day Mon State, was conquered by the Burmese Kingdom. Three hundred miles away in the Shan Hills, the Pa-O started a new life, bringing Buddhism and their strong traditions with them.