For years, ABWE’s Goroka Baptist Bible College (GBBC) in Papua New Guinea has grown their own food to help meet the daily needs of its students, but a few years ago, the school leaders brewed up the idea of growing coffee.
The campus’ high elevation, tropical rains, shaded gardens, and rich soil made it perfect for producing a high-quality java. The college hoped that one day they could use the coffee to help fund the school and provide scholarships for its students, but the growing process is very labor intensive.
It was approximately two years before part of the GBBC trees began sprouting tiny coffee cherry buds. When they did, the GBBC students — who help with the project to supplement their tuition costs — handpicked them and removed the cherries’ bright red outer skins with a small coffee bean pulper machine.
Once removed, the beans were washed and the drying process began. It took about two days of drying in the sun before the beans were ready to be sent to the coffee roaster, where another layer of husk was removed and the beans were roasted. Finally, the beans were packaged and ready to be sent around the world.
“We used to think it would be impossible for our coffee bushes to produce heavy crop after heavy crop in such amazing abundance. But our God makes the impossible possible,” said Lori Smith, ABWE missionary in Papua New Guinea. “Now, we are filled to the brim with beans and the rich smell of the coffee reminds us that our God provides."
All donations from the coffee are used to support the college and provide scholarships to Papua New Guinean believers. Whole bean or ground GBBC coffee is available in the USA, Australia, and Papua New Guinea for a suggested donation of $15 per bag.