Australia Awards South and West Asia

International Coffee Day, which coffee lovers celebrate each year on 1 October, is a fitting occasion to announce that Karma Chime from Bhutan is the winner of the inaugural Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia Alumni Impact Video Challenge. Karma, who is the Founder and Chief Executive Office of Bhutan Mountain Coffee, submitted the video below that highlights how his coffee business is supporting farming communities, mitigating the effects of climate change and supporting biodiversity.

Australia Awards launched the Alumni Impact Video Challenge after delivering two online digital storytelling training workshops for alumni. These were popular activities, with more than 100 alumni attending the first workshop and more than 60 alumni attending the second. The workshops provided participants with an overview of how to tell their stories, and covered topics such as developing a narrative, communicating key messages and using digital tools.

To compete in the challenge, alumni were invited to submit videos of less than three minutes that depicted the impact their Australia Awards journey has had on their work, lives and communities. Alumni from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka submitted videos for the challenge. Entries were judged on their clarity in depicting the impact of their Australia Awards experience and the quality of their storytelling.

In selecting Karma’s submission as the winning video, the judges valued his use of a strong narrative and visuals to demonstrate how he is improving the livelihood of rural communities in southern Bhutan.

The video highlighted how Karma has sourced high-quality sustainable coffee for his business by supporting the establishment of the Foothills Farmers Cooperative. The cooperative comprises more than 600 coffee-growing farmers in Bhutan’s Samtse district. Bhutan Mountain Coffee initially supplied the farmers with free coffee saplings and continues to provide technical guidance. The business also guarantees that it will purchase all the farmers’ coffee, securing them an ongoing source of sustainable income.

“Bhutan Mountain Coffee is a first-of-its-kind project in Bhutan that employs a distinct cooperative-business model to create sustainable livelihoods for rural communities in the southern foothills of Bhutan, while also contributing to the conservation of Bhutan’s pristine environment,” Karma says in the video.

Karma Chime amongst in a shade-grown coffee farm in Bhutan

Supporting coffee growers reflects Karma’s commitment to environmental sustainability. “Apart from being a high-value crop, coffee plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change,” says Karma. “The shade-grown coffee not only protects biodiversity, but also sequesters carbon, contributing to our fight against climate change. Our shade-grown farms also help combat soil erosion.”

The advantages are both environmental and economic, as Karma indicates. “I am committed to ensuring sustainable cultivation practices, with coffee farmers directly reaping the benefits of our endeavours.”

Karma completed the Short Course on Business Acceleration for Entrepreneurship in Bhutan in 2022. The Short Course, delivered by Queensland University of Technology, was designed to extend the participants’ knowledge of expansion strategies and diversification skills to assist them to scale up their businesses.

Karma Chime (back row, fifth from left) and other participants at the opening of the Short Course on Business Acceleration for Entrepreneurs in Bhutan in November 2021. Also pictured is the Honorable Minister Lyonpo Karma Dorji, the then Minister for the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources.

After completing the Short Course, Karma said that the experience had given him the motivation to expand his business and had improved his knowledge of cash management, managing human resources, setting and reviewing goals, and branding.

These skills have certainly helped Karma expand his market. Since opening the first Mountain Café in 2016, he has grown his business to include five outlets across Bhutan, serving coffee sourced from the beans grown by the Foothills Farmers Cooperative.

Speaking more recently about his participation in the Short Course, Karma says, “The experience not only broadened my horizons but also equipped me with the skills to drive positive change back home in Bhutan.”