Shwe Taung Thu farmers group, which translates to "Golden Farmer," is a farmer-owned venture comprising over 3,000 Danu and Pa-O smallholder farmers from 17 villages across the Ywangan area of Southern Shan State, Myanmar. Women constitute 60% of the total workforce.
Shwe Taung Thu empowers small-scale farmers by giving them control over coffee production, pricing, and community contributions. This approach frees them from middleman exploitation and increases their profits. The group focuses exclusively on producing dry naturals, as the climate and terroir are particularly suited to this process. The very dry heat during the harvest season provides excellent conditions for drying.
Coffees produced by Shwe Taung Thu are named after the villages where they are grown and processed. Each community has its own working group responsible for managing the cultivation and processing of coffee within their village. In return, Shwe Taung Thu's operational team offers valuable support, including technical guidance, market access, and financial assistance to ensure quality control and fairer trade conditions for their coffees.
Through its cooperative model, representatives from each of the 17 villages have voting rights in Shwe Taung Thu's General Assembly to select its Board of Directors.