Many times visiting civet farms in Duc Trong and Da Lat City (Lam Dong Province), Mr. Nguyen Van Dung invested in building cages to raise these wild animals, feeding them ripe coffee berries to make "civet coffee" - an expensive specialty coffee.
A farmer has made a bold move on his homeland. Taking advantage of favorable weather and climate, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Phu Hiep 1 village, Gia Hiep commune, Di Linh district (Lam Dong province) has built a model of raising civets (civet cats), producing civet coffee, gradually increasing the value of coffee beans, bringing stable income to his family.
As a farmer who has spent his life growing coffee, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung is troubled by the difficulty of producing and caring for coffee trees while the income of growers is unstable.
How to increase income from Di Linh coffee beans? That is the question of many people, including farmers in Gia Hiep coffee land.
With the idea of changing, after learning about techniques through books and newspapers, combined with many field trips to civet farms in Duc Trong and Da Lat City, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung invested in building a cage to raise these wild animals to make "civet coffee".
Mr. Dung built his own farm and asked for permission from the authorities to raise civets for coffee production. In 2019, 40 civets were brought to the farm, with full legal documents on wildlife origin.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung shared that raising civets for coffee production, the first thing to do is to ensure hygiene. The breeding area is arranged separately with an area of 1 - 1.5 m2 for each civet to ensure space for movement, clean cages, dry and avoid humidity.
Every year, he vaccinates the weasels. According to Mr. Dung, weasel coffee production depends on the coffee ripening season and is not harvested uniformly like traditional coffee. When the coffee is ripe, from October to December every year, he picks ripe coffee to feed the weasels.
Immediately after picking, the 95 - 100% ripe coffee berries will be transported back on the same day, washed with salt water to avoid fungus and dirt, and left to dry before being fed to the civets.
Because ripe coffee berries are digested in the civet's stomach with the action of digestive enzymes, the protein structure and acid in the coffee are changed, making the flavor of the coffee more special.
After about 4 hours of weasels eating coffee fruit, the product is released and collected, incubated for 1 to 2 days, washed with pure filtered water and dried in the wind, avoiding direct sunlight.
When the humidity of the civet coffee beans reaches 11 - 12 degrees, wrap them tightly in plastic bags, store them for 3 to 4 months, then remove the silk shell, roast, grind and package.
Mr. Dung, a farmer, raises civets (a wild animal) - a species of civet - and feeds them ripe coffee berries, collects the excrement and dries the coffee beans in the shade. Mr. Dung's model of raising civets and making civet coffee in Gia Hiep commune, Di Linh district (Lam Dong province).
Weasel coffee beans are a high-quality coffee product, so they require a very careful and meticulous production and processing process. Mr. Dung said: “To ensure clean, quality raw materials without chemicals, my family has taken care of 5 sao of Robusta coffee in an organic way.
Civets are particularly sensitive to pesticides and herbicides. If the coffee is not cared for properly, the civet will vomit, get sick, and even die. Therefore, caring for the coffee safely is the only way to ensure that the coffee beans meet the standards for the civet to eat.
During the seasons when there is no coffee, the weasels are fed vegetables, fruits, and food from around the home garden.
Currently, with 40 civets raised by Mr. Dung, each year the family produces 500 - 600 kg of finished civet coffee beans, with the selling price of civet coffee ranging from 8 - 10 million VND/kg, bringing a stable income to the family.
Aiming to build a brand for Di Linh civet coffee beans, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung built the Truong Thanh coffee brand and registered the OCOP product. During the OCOP product review of Di Linh district at the end of 2023, the civet coffee product of Truong Thanh facility achieved 3-star standards, an encouraging milestone for farmers.
As a farmer, Mr. Dung shared very simply, he is aiming to build a cooperative model to build the Di Linh weasel coffee brand.
He said that the market demand for civet coffee is still quite narrow because customers do not know much about this coffee product.
He plans to expand links with farmers after building a stable brand and market.
Each household can raise a few dozen weasels, take care of a moderate coffee area, high quality coffee will bring more stable economic efficiency.
Not only that, in the future, tourists coming to Di Linh will have a product to choose as a gift with local characteristics, which is coffee beans with a unique flavor: weasel coffee.
Source: https://danviet.vn/con-dong-vat-hoang-da-con-chon-huong-nuoi-thanh-cong-o-lam-dong-lam-ca-phe-chon-trung-lon-20250213185758419.htm
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