DAGA. PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Daga is a remote, landlocked region nestled in the rugged mountains of Papua New Guinea, at the far eastern end of the island of New Guinea. Home to fewer than 10,000 people, it is one of the most isolated places on Earth. Reaching Daga from Europe typically takes at least six days. The closest airport is in Alotau, but the journey doesn’t end there. From Alotau, it’s another three days of travel—first by car, then 60 kilometers by a small boat, and finally a grueling two-day trek on foot.
Daga has no roads, no electricity, no shops, no medical facilities, and no postal services. The sole connection to the outside world is a single mobile tower perched atop a mountain peak—assuming you’ve somehow managed to keep your phone charged. The region’s few public institutions include a handful of local schools, and the people rely on subsistence farming to survive, clinging to the hope that one day, life might improve.
The story of Daga’s coffee began in 1955, when the first Blue Mountain variety coffee trees were planted during the region’s period under Australian administration. The goal was to provide the local population with a source of income beyond subsistence farming. Over the following decades, coffee production flourished, with hundreds of thousands of trees yielding around 300 tons of coffee annually. However, Daga’s extreme isolation made logistics a constant challenge. At one point, small cargo planes were used to transport coffee to distant processing facilities.
After Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975, the situation began to change. The logistical networks that had supported coffee farmers gradually disappeared. By the late 1980s, as selling their beans became increasingly difficult, many farmers abandoned their coffee trees. Since then, coffee production in Daga has been a constant struggle—some years offering glimmers of hope, others leaving farmers with no buyers at all.
Today, coffee production in Daga is just 10% of what it once was. Yet, some families have never given up. Year after year, they continue to hand-pick and process their coffee, holding onto the hope that this season will be different. In villages where money is scarce and even basic goods are hard to come by, life is simple but resilient. People tend their gardens, adorn their homes with flowers, and gather around the fire to sing as darkness falls.
Inspired by the warmth and determination of this community, we knew we wanted to work alongside them—to help bring their coffee back to the world.