A fledgling coffee, ginger, and turmeric enterprise, Gray Café Trading, which has cash flow issues has been given a lifeline to grow with support from BLP.
A fledgling coffee, ginger and turmeric enterprise Gray Café Trading has been given a lifeline to grow with support from BLP.
Owner Graydon Puinam studied coffee ten years ago in Israel while on a Youth Year of Service. Four years ago, he started experimenting with the processing of coffee beans purchased from farmers in the remote Gwirot village of the Daga Rural Local Level Government area in PNG.
Recently his business faced a major cash flow issue. “I must pay the farmers and then there is a quite a delay until I can revenue for the finished product. There are no roads to Gwirot village where I buy my coffee fruit. To get the raw product to my processing facility in Alotau, I employ local people to carry it for four days to bring it to the coast. It then goes by boat to get to Lae. I can airlift by plane from the village, but it is too expensive.”
Graydon says walking the product to the coast is also expensive as he must pay for the labour. “But the good thing is that I pay village community groups to do the transporting to the coast. This helps them fundraise and helps the community.”
After receiving the BLP grant, he was able to restore his relationships with the coffee farmers. He settled payments with 95 farmers and can now focus on processing and selling the coffee.
“I want to acknowledge BLP for selecting me and my business for the grant. This is a boost to my future. As a grassroots business I am empowered for my future and my commitment is strong.”
“Currently I don’t have an electric roaster, which limits my production capacity and speed. In Alotau, we roast and pack/label the coffee, then we send a container to Lae for distribution to customers.”
Graydon employs 10 people (6 men and 4 women) to process the coffee beans, raw ginger and turmeric into powder. “It’s an opportunity for youth employment.” With sustainability in mind, he uses the by-products of the coffee process to make pillows.
He says he spends a lot of time educating the farmers he buys from, to understand the importance of quality control. “This is critical to ensure product success. I bring the coffee growers together to help them understand the importance of quality control and setting standards. The farmers in the area had not tried organic coffee farming before.”
“I make them coffee, as many have not tried it before. This helps them understand why quality is so important. With a laptop I show them the manufacturing process and help them learn the importance of love and care in coffee growing.”
“I am connected to the community very much. I donate 5 Kina per 250g of coffee produced to go back to helping children and mothers with medical and healthcare. Working with authorities this year we have had success in getting more nurse visits to schools in the village.”
Graydon currently sells most of the products to local hotels, but he also has developing customers relationships in New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, Texas, Estonia and Israel.
With so much potential for growth and a passion for quality, we’re sure the future looks bright for Graydon and Gray Cafe Trading.
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. To start your journey with BLP, you can self-assess your needs by using the free online tools available to help small- and medium-sized businesses diagnose areas in their businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor. If you prefer to meet a local BLP representative in person to discuss your business, get in touch with our local partners to arrange a face-to-face Diagnostic.