Htam Pha Yar Village
Htam Pha Yar Village sits right below 1,200 meters, with all coffee farms located above 1,230 meters on the nearby mountains. As one of the latest communities to join Indigo Mountain co-op, the farmers ledy by U Tun Kyaw (pictured right) of Htam Pha Yar worked their way up to the village’s first international export in 2022. Elders in the community say that their village started roughly a century ago when families came in search of better land to grow crops. The past few decades, that has mostly meant poppy farming across this region because of ongoing conflict, but Indigo Mountain’s mission since the start has been to create a sustainable model for local communities transitioning from poppy farming to specialty coffee – regardless of the ever-changing external factors.
Following the lead of this initial group of smallholders in 2018, other Pa-O communities including Htam Pha Yar have been learning the alternative livelihoods available to them—with the higher-wage and more inclusive opportunities from specialty coffee now at the forefront for many farming families.
About the origin:
Elevation: 1,230masl (4,035 ft)
People: Pa-O
Head farmer: U Tun Kyaw
Producer members: 20
Location: 20.62563, 97.25388
About the taste:
Varieties: Catuai, Caturra
Processing: Dry Natural
Average drying: 13-17 days
Stand-out flavor notes: Golden raisin, milk chocolate, nougat
2024 availability: SOLD OUT 120kg (2 bags)
The people
As the tale goes, there was once a Weiza, or supernatural 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.
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