HISTORY
The history of coffee in the northern region of Tanzania dates back to the 19th century. At that time, present-day Tanzania was a German colony, and it was then that German settlers brought coffee plants from Reunion Island, an island near Madagascar, to northern Tanzania, with which they developed the industry.
Most of the coffee plantations in the northern region of Tanzania were created in the 1920s, after World War I. Around 80 families of German immigrants founded these small coffee plantations.
León's parents were also immigrants who, having arrived from Greece in Tanzania in the 1900s, decided to make coffee production their livelihood. León is the third generation of this coffee-growing family. His ancestors cultivated coffee on the land near their home, however, the altitude of this land was not high enough to produce high-quality coffee. León discovered specialty coffee in the 2000s and began searching for land where he could produce higher quality coffee.
León revitalized the coffee plantation, which was in poor condition, and began planting high-quality coffee trees of different varieties such as Kent, SL 28, Geisha, and Pacamara. It is thanks to León's meticulous effort and the wonderful natural environment that the growth of these varietals and the quality of the coffee have been boosted.
The lands around Acacia Hills border the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, inhabited by wild animals such as elephants and buffaloes. "In terms of marketing, this might sound great, but the truth is it's delicate to deal with these animals. León has even seen with his own eyes how animals completely destroy his coffee plants. There is no doubt that even after finishing the construction of his coffee plantation, León has experienced countless difficulties inherent to its location.
During the founding of Acacia Hills, León and his team always asked the staff working at the coffee plantation the following question, "If there was something that could change your life, what would it be?"
When asked this question, the first answers were always "education" or "water." With schools in almost all areas of Tanzania, water is surely more important. There were even people who traveled almost 4 kilometers carrying 20 liters of water extracted from ditches.
It was then that León decided to build water supply infrastructure in Oldeani, with the help of his partner Mark and an Australian roaster. He installed water supply equipment on his two coffee plantations and prepared a system to transport water to the village's water supply tank using gravity-fed pipes. The villages in this area are very poor, so much so that until about 15 years ago, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) distributed corn as a staple food to its population. In addition to these kinds of social projects, the fact that León has achieved some commercial success in Oldeani has also had a positive impact on its surroundings.
For the specialty coffee sector, where sustainability is the most difficult problem, Leon's practice will be a very valuable teaching tool.
