1. Culture and Coffee:
Mediums For a Peaceful Relationship Between Coffee Plantations and Wildlifein
Coorg, India
Laura Emmerson
Introduction
Coorg1
, a district that lies in the southern part of the South Indian state of
Karnataka, holds a unique culture and landscape that flourishes with coffee plantations.
These plantations hold rows upon rows of the plant composed of small bushels of waxy,
thick, and green leafs. When looking out upon the Coorg landscape, one sees dark green
thick hills, which is mostly due to these seemingly endless coffee plantations. When I
was in the first stages of creating the proposal for this research, I was unclear of my
intentions and had no clue it would leadto this lush forested land. All I knew was that I
wanted to study a culture to create ideas for preserving the natural landscape and wildlife
of an area in the Western Ghats.
Originally I was hoping to do a study in Kerala; the state is known for its amazing
wildlife and it’s someplace that I have yet to visit. Doing a study there would have been a
great opportunity to learn about someplace new. When Dr. Rao2
suggested Coorg, I was
hesitant at the start. Coorg is the next district over from Mysore, only 120 km away. My
original hesitancies lied within the fact that it was so close to Mysore, but my doubts
were soon cleared when researching the district. The Coorg district is one that is unlike
any other in the state, even in the whole nation of India.It is well known to those who
have experienced India that virtually every region differs from another, whether it be
language, food, dress etc., but Coorg is a special case.Culturally it has many differences
1
Also referred to as Kodagu
2
Director of Vivekananda Institute of Indian Studies

2. from even the surroundingSouthern districts and states. I had come to find with living in
Coorg for almost a month that even comparing Northern Coorg to Southern Coorg, one
could find much cultural diversity. The main question to be asked is how did such a small
district of Karnataka come to be so distinct from the rest of Southern India? The answer
lies within a source that is powerful and omnipresent: the environment. Throughout the
world, one’s environment constantly influences culture and the daily lives of people.
With research and simply living in Coorg, the presence of environment is an extreme
influencing factor of how this unique culture has come to be.
In this study, my original goal was to learn about agriculture, especially coffee,
and its effects on wildlife in Coorg and how understanding the culture would contribute
to preservation. To begin to accomplish this goal, I figured that exploring attitudes
towards one’s environment in Coorg could be a way in understanding a farmer’s
relationship with his/her land. Only being here for a few weeks, this task was a daunting
one, finding that discovering human effects on wildlife would be an intensive scientific
study in which I did not have the full skills, access, funds, or time for. So my study was
transformed into a cultural study, exploring the people of Coorg’s relationship with their
environment, focusing in part on coffee planters. With site visits to a couple coffee
estates and nature hotspots around Coorg, I was able to get a handle on where my study
was to be directed. Talking with/interviewing people made the research that much more
relevant.
There are two major parts to this paper: the culture of Coorg and case studies of
coffee planters’role regarding effects on the environment. Having a comprehensive
handle on some cultural aspects such as weddings and festivals provides an avenue to

3. explore the ways that Coorgs3
express themselves and identify as a people. Since coffee is
also a major cultural aspectof Coorg culture, exploring ithas helped me to view my
studies from the eyes of a member of Coorg society. My final goal was to use the results
from article readings, interviews, and field visits to create a window from which to
unravel potential compromises between coffee planters and the wildlife that depend on
the land in which coffee plantations cover.
Geography
The Coorg region can be found on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. It
occupies 4,102 km2
(india.gov.in. N.p., 2010), with bordering districts of Mysore, Hassan,
and Kerala.There are many hills in the region, the highest peak being 1,750 meters. The
district is known for its
agriculture including coffee,
cardamom, and pepper.
The major river that flows
through the district is the
Cauvery (or Kaveri) which
people hold in high spiritual
regard, as it provides waters
for a good harvest.
Figure 1:Agricultural
Landscape as of the District of
Kodagu as of 20074
3
A name for the people of the region
4
Figure 1: (Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al. 2009)

4. Part One: Festivals and Celebrations
Huttari Festival
Something special about Coorg are its festivals. One of the most important, if not
the most is the Huttari Festival, or the harvest. It falls in between late November and
early December, the date depending on the full moon and a particular star. This time
period is special because it marks the traditional date when the first rice of the year was
to be harvested. Rice is significant in South India, especially Coorg because it used to be
the dominant crop, and still is the staple of virtually every Coorg dish. Even though it’s
losing to coffee production because of major labor costs, it can be seen in Figure 1 that
rice still takes up significant space and is widely spread through outKodagu. Huttari is a
festival that calls upon Laxmi, the goddess of wealth to bless the families of Coorg with a
good harvest. This practice can be traced back to rice being the basis of the economy,
before coffee was more prevalent.
The festival is a big family event; the first thing the family does is go out into
their rice field and cut the first grains of the season. After going to the fields, the family
goes to their ancestral house or Ain. It’s important to incorporate ancestors into festivals,
in fact, one interviewmentioned that in Coorg,when is comes to “ancestral worship, gods
came later” (Muthanna, 2011).
Although many of the foundations of the festival are no longer in practice, for
example, because of new agricultural technologies that provide faster growth of paddy, it
is no longer necessary to wait until January to harvest rice. Also, Coorg is less
economically dependent on rice since the spread of coffee plantations. Originally, the
Huttari festival was more important because winter marked the end of going without rice.

5. Knowing that rice is steadily available to people year round, I asked the interviewees if
they believed this fact has taken away the importance in the festival. Replies indicated
that the festival is important to them because the tradition and ancestors involved are
significant in their culture. Nisha, my host mother replied that “we all can join together in
the mand, we can meet others, our minds will be relieved talking with each other, we can
dance enjoy. Children will also be happy meeting their friends,” (Kotramada, 2011).
Socially, tradition is carried on, and even though rice isn’t being produced the way it was,
it still signifies tradition and wealth: “paddy is nothing but wealth for us, so god has come
to our house [to bless us],” (Kotramada, 2011).
Cauvery Festival
Another important natural occurrence in Coorg is the Cauvery River. It brings
water from its starting point all the way to the Bay of Bengal, it is regarded as scared to
Hindus, considered the Ganga of the South. The people of Coorg celebrate the Cauvery
Festival in which people gather at the starting point of the river, Talacauvery, on the
auspicious day in mid-October when the water bubbles up to the surface in the sacred
tank. This day of celebration is important as it, “is the day they say Cauvery visits the
Earth and gives up the seeds to the people of Coorg who worship her” (Muthanna
2011).For these celebrations all water sources are included in the pooja, not only the
river. It is important to perform pooja and give food offerings such as banana leaf
covered with dosa, pumpkin curry, honey, and ghee and others so there will be assurance
that Goddess Cauvery will bless Coorg with a bountiful rice harvest, similarto the Huttari
festival. When I asked Udayif he believed the Cauvery festival is important his reply was,
“I do feel the festival is very important for us because it’s been passed on from the

6. ancients… our forefathers have done it and Coorg has always been a country which has
never seen much difficulty, let it be …any floods or any native problem or major
incidents. Nothing has happened and that’s because we feel it is Goddess Cauvery’s
blessing,” (Muthanna 2011). These traditions are deep-set within Coorg and through
interviews of Coorg people and living here, it has become evident just how important
water and land is to their culture, economy, and lifestyle.
Weddings
Another example of the environmental significance of this region can be seen in a
traditional Coorg wedding. During my short stay, I was lucky enough to attend one and
found that aspects of both the Huttari and Cauvery festivals can be seen in a wedding
ceremony. In the reception the close family members of the bridegroom surrounded him
and threw rice at him. The husband proceeded to touch the elders’ feet as a sign of
respect. Afterwards the family of the bride performed much of the same thing with slight
variation. When looking from an anthropological viewpoint, there can be meaning found
in every aspect of the wedding.
The actual wedding ceremony took place on the next day from ten in the morning
to about ten at night, an all day event. The main events of the day were the meeting the
bride and groom, blessing them, and the Ganga Pooja. All of the people that attend the
wedding lined up to bless the bride and groom and give them presents or money for the
start their life together. There were hundreds of people in attendance so this event took a
few hours. Before giving the gifts the guests through rice at the bride or groom. The
GangaPooja consisted of the bride and a couple of the women relatives. The bride had to
walk very slowly from one side of a room to another with water on top of her head while

7. people danced around her. The dancing and walking lasted two and half hours.
Sometimes it can last even longer, for example, Nisha had to perform this for five hours
at her wedding! The people dancing represent them trying to “stop” her from reaching her
destination. The water acts as a test for the bride to show her dedication to the marriage
(more or less), representing the diligence and dedication of the river. It seems to be more
of a practice of tradition these days, but still a vital part of every Coorg wedding.
A common theme found in these festivals and celebrations is the attachment to
nature that is found among the Coorg traditions. Like in the festivals and weddings,
harvest and holy water are very integral parts of daily life. Coorg lifestyle includes living
near or in forests all of their lives, which acts as a guide toward the way that the coffee
plantations are run. Almost everything becomes linked back to the environment, making
the analysis of coffee plantations that much more important.During the month that I
conducted research in Coorg, I was able find deep instilled traditional connections to the
environment, passed down through generations. There has been loss of interest in such
cultural traditions in the newer generations, but true practice can be seen in the family
farms of Coorg.
Understanding cultural connections through coffee plantations may bring to the
stage a way to view the planting methods and how theyaffect the land,in turn creating
strategies to work with farmers to ensure that sustainable methods are upheld. My
findings are meant to unravel a bit of the coffee influence on culture, lifestyles, and the
land of Coorg.
Part Two: Coffee Plantations
Coffee culture

8. Along with the festivals and marriages, coffee is something passed on through
family. The three planters that I interviewed during my weeks of research were all
middle-aged men who had picked up coffee farming from their fathers or community
members, which tends to be commonplace in Coorg. Coffee estates often have a man’s
last name and sometimes mentions his son, for example the estate near my temporary
home was titled “Kotramada and son”. Although larger corporate farms do exist, the
majority percentage of acres for coffee plantations are family-owned estates, which are
main contributors to the identity of Coorg on a broad scale. Many people grow up either
on plantation or are constantly surrounded by it their whole life. The growing of coffee in
Coorg “is one of the major drivers of the regional economy, the landscape, and even the
cultural identity of the district,”(Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al. 2009) for
example, whenever I visited a person’s home I was offered a cup of coffee and my host
mother, Nisha, served coffee harvested from her estate at least twice a day. Through my
experience living and researching in this region, I found that Coorgs are very prideful in
traditional practices and because plantations make up much of the landscape, analyzing
the coffee farming practices and culture will be beneficial to understanding the area’s
environment.
In 2009 it was documented that when it comes to coffee production, “one-third
comes from the district of Kodagu in the state of Karnataka,” and “coffee plantations
occupy 33% of the district,”(Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al. 2009) making
coffee a major contributor to the condition of the environment and extremely important to
the people that live there. So I set out to find what the benefits and issues were when it
came to coffee planting in this district.

9. Biodiversity
From interviews and exploring the coffee plantations I learned that coffee is one
of the most sustainable planting out there because Indian shade-grown coffee
incorporates forest cover into its design. Among the forest cover, plantations offer fairly
rich biodiversity, which attracts many wildlife birds. Instead of endless fields of
monoculture, these farms offer more crops. Not only does the farmer gain more of a
profit from this, the agriculture provides a better niche for wildlife. Crops such as “pepper
(Piper nigrum), citrus (Citrus spp.), areca nut (Areca catechu) and vanilla (Vanilla spp.),”
(Anand, Krishnaswamy, Kumar, and Bali 2010) can be found. During my visits I also
found Coorg oranges and cardamom, which could easily be seen growing among the
coffee plants. Cardamom, which is entirely shade grown is also beneficial to the
environment, said to be one of the most sustainable because less forest cover needs to be
cleared.
Environmental Issues
Although there is much support for the sustainability of coffee plantations, recent
trends have shown that increased mechanization and economic incentives push for
potentially harmful methods:
The shift from Arabica (Coffeaarabica) to Robusta coffee
(Coffeacanephoravarrobusta), motivated by the easier management, better
pest resistance of Robusta varieties (Raghuramulu 2006), and the massive
development of irrigation systems, has reduced the need for dense shade
cover. Increasing use of chemical fertilizers, as in Mesoamerica (Perfecto
et al. 1996), has replaced earlier use of green or organic manure,”(Garcia,
Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al. 2009)
The desire for convenience is shifting the way coffee is grown and will continue to
change with the endorsement of pesticides over organic methods.

10. When asked, the three farmers interviewed during my stay mentioned that they
do not use pesticides, but do use chemical fertilizers. A couple of the farmers interviewed
mentioned that organic farming is preferable, but with the profit demand chemical
fertilizers help produce far more plants in less amount of time.
Non-native trees
Anotherpotential environmental issue that is increasingly taking hold is the use of
non-native shade trees within the plantations. Like using the chemical fertilizers, these
trees can hold an economic gain over non-native trees. One example used is Silver oak,
which is prevalent onnumerous farms in Coorg for a few reasons: they “1.Grow fast, 2.
Provide a good stand for pepper, 3. Have easily available seeds and seedlings, 4. Easy to
fell, transport and sell,”(French Institute of Pondicherry 2008) and according to Uday,
farmers do not need permission from the forest department to fell these trees, unlike their
native tree species counterparts. In turn, the silver oak and other non-native species can
be turned into plywood.
These trees are good for money in the farmer’s wallets, but “instead of
contributing to the soil fertility they degrade the soil and also remove water from the
ground water table,”(Bopanna 2011). Also, they are not as supportive to other wildlife
species because the trees are foreign to the Coorg forest ecosystems.
Human elephant conflict
Speaking of wildlife, the human and elephant conflict is a major issue that leads
to tensions among coffee planters and elephants. On the one hand, the biodiversity of the
crops and other plants found in the plantations attracts the elephants to the farms, a good
sign that there are productive, healthy relationships between coffee farms and wildlife.

11. On the other hand, the elephants are entering into the plantations and destroying crops,
costing the planters money. Reasons behind elephant infiltration can be attributed to
“human demographic pressure, expansion of cash crops in previously forested areas and
the subsequent overlap of habitats,”(Bal, Nath, Nanaya, Kushalappa, and Garcia 2011)
leading the elephants away from the ranges they lived in previously.Some of the planters
that I talked to mentioned that when they make complaints to the forest department, they
receive money compensation, but the problem still continues.Solutions are being
conducted too slowly in order to calm the problems between the elephants and human
farmers. Other protected wildlife often forage and travel through the plantations, but the
elephants tends to make the biggest mark on the land.
Discussion/Potential Solutions
What I have come to find is that because of its importance in the economy and
social influence, coffee plantations will continue to be prevalent in the region of Coorg.
Even with its negative environmental impacts, there are many benefits and potential
positive symbiosis- relationships within coffee and Coorg wildlife. Farming is something
that is a cultural tradition in Coorg, but since this coffee is grown in one of the world’s
most important biodiversityhot spots, wildlife should be given special attention. It is
especially important then to create a compromise with the coffee plantations and wildlife
of the region. Below are some ideas and means to solving some of the leading causes of
the disturbances between farmers and forest life.
Motivation for Coffee Planters
From all the article references drawn together for this research, all of them
mentioned a need for involvement of community members in promoting sustainable

12. practices for the preservation of the forests. In the case of Coorg, coffee plantations have
become a large cultural and economic staple in the region, so a way to perform
communication participation is considering “farmers as stakeholders in conserving
biodiversity and actively solicit them as partners,”(Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et
al. 2009) meaning that the farmer’s concerns need to be heard if change is to be had.
Economic Incentives
One of the problems stopping this sustainability is economic incentive, where
motivations like “a healthy environment” are not enough to influence most planters to use
sustainable farming methods. Conflicts brought up earlier in this paper include the use of
chemical fertilizers, non-native tree species, and the human/elephant conflict, all of which
are of concern for the health of wildlife and the Coorg farmer’s crop production. All of
these concerns can find their emergence linked back to the profit of the planter. If the
farmer is going to accommodate the conditions of the environment into his/her farming
methods, the government and other organizations involved with coffee production need
to find major ways to provide economic incentives to protect wildlife. Because coffee
plays such a large role in the district, it should be one of the top priorities for these
stakeholders.
The Forest Department could provide economic incentives such as “carbon credit”
for planting native trees. Organizations such as the Karnataka Growers’ Federation,
Coorg Wildlife Society, and the Rain Forest Alliance should work with the farmers more
to help make farming methods more sustainable.Having focused my project around the
culture of Coorg, below are methods in which these cultural studies may be beneficial to
all of the stakeholders involved in the management of a healthy forest ecosystem.

13. Coorg Pride
A way that all of the stakeholders can view this issue is to keep traditional
foresting methods as a top priority. Coorgs are a unique people that are very prideful of
their land and culture, so going back to the basics could do some good for the
environment and preserving Coorg heritage. Part of the solution could be to promote
traditional ways of planting (for example, stop the usage of chemical fertilizers) and
advertise this as the “Coorg Way”. From my research through observing daily life and
special celebrations I found that Coorgsdraw much inspiration from their ancestors,
whose traditions are rooted in nature, such as the harvest and river festivals. The
government could support these projects and provide help to the coffee planters, which
might be in their best interest considering how much money coffee brings to the region.
Also, if the planters still need economic incentives, “possible solutions include promotion
of sustainable products such as timber and nontimber forest and agroforest products (e.g.,
pepper, cardamom, Coorg orange, and honey)” (Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al.
2009), which are already found in many of the coffee plantations. Knowing how much
value Coorg puts on its coffee farms, in time it will become clear that when biodiversity
is preserved, it will help keep the land fruitful. Simply allowing several plants on
plantations and lessening chemical fertilizers can be a start this preservation.
While in Coorg I was able to witness some of the events and meet some of the
“partners” that are involved in the sustainability of coffee plantations. Currently a man
named Krishnamurthy Pushpanath is generating buzz within the region through an event
called the “Walk for Climate Justice”. The walk is trying to attract attention towards the
global climate issues and is calling upon the help of coffee farmers because, “India is the

14. only country that grows all of its coffee under shade”(Karnataka Growers' Federation
2011) and their biodiverse farms can support wildlife and other natural systems. Because
of the large proportion of coffee farmers in the region, promoting sustainability in these
plantations can lead towards a healthier Western Ghats forest. Based on conclusions
reached through analyzing literature and interviews, I believe that events like the climate
walk, which reaches out to the community of coffee planters can lead farming methods to
more sustainable means (if done properly).
Conclusions
This month-long internship has allowed me to learn about a unique culture that
happens to lie in one of the richest forest ranges in the world. Having the opportunity to
talk with people, even though my time and resources were limited, I have discovered
interesting cultural aspects of a whole region of people that take pride in their traditions,
ancestors, and environment.
My main setback was the Kannada/English language barrier that got in the way
especially when it came time for interviews with coffee planters. I was unable to have a
consistent translator, but was able to talk to some people efficiently. When it came time
to talking with people on the phone, even if they spoke in English it was often difficult to
understand him/her. Despite the setbacks, people were very kind and tried to help with
my project the best that they could. After all, Coorg is known for hospitality, which at
times is almost too helpful.
Honestly, there isn’t enough written work easily available online or in print about
the region, so the project was based off of the few written sources that I could find and
the first-hand experiences. Being in the region that I was studying made a big difference

15. when it came to creating a project and learning about coffee and Coorg as a whole.
Physically being in Coorg put the information gathered into perspective. Talking to
people, viewing the plantations, and experiencing day-to-day life in Coorg gave me
distinctive results that I never could have received from a textbook or an article. Also,
living with a Coorg family made a difference, as it allowed for an insiders view of a
coffee estate owner’s home.
Through all of this work I was able to partially accomplish my goal of using the
every-day life examples of Coorgs and coffee culture to discover some issues among
plantations, andusing what I learned to find ways in which the coffee can peacefully
coincide with forests of Coorg and everything they have to offer.Sustainability in
thisregion is a major topic that has been explored by others, but I believe that every
contribution to the mater counts and more studies should be done.
Lastly, one of the major things learned during this research is that culture plays a
large role in altering natural ecosystems of Coorg and vise-versa. With my project only
being one month, I merely skimmed the surface of all of the research that could be done,
but it feels like some sort of conclusion can be made. Coorg will truly be missed and Iam
grateful for this opportunity to learn about such a special region of Karnataka.

16. Work Cited
Anand, M.O., JagdishKrishnaswamy, Ajith Kumar, and Archana Bali. "Sustaining
biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats: Remnant
forests matter." Elsevier Ltd., Biological Conservation. 143. (2010): 2363–2374. Print.
Bal, P., C. D. Nath, K. M. Nanaya, C. G. Kushalappa, and C. Garcia. "Elephants Also
Like Coffee: Trends and Drivers of Human–Elephant Conflicts in Coffee Agroforestry
Landscapes of Kodagu, Western Ghats,India." Environmental Management. 48.2 (2011):
263. Print.
Bopanna, P.T. The Romance of Indian Coffee. Bangalore: Prism Books Pvt. Ltd., 2011.
96. Print.
Coffee and Environmental Services in the Western Ghats." French Institute of
Pondicherry. 21 May 2008. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ifpindia.org/Coffee-and-
Environmental-Services-in-the-Western-Ghats.html>.
Garcia, Claude, Shonil A. Bhagwat, et al. "Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural
Landscapes: Challenges and Opportunities of Coffee Agroforests in the Western Ghats,
India." Conservation Biology. 224.2 (2009): 479-488. Print.
“Indian Coffee” Karnataka Growers' Federation 2011. Web. 9 Dec 2011.
<http://kgf.org.in/indian_coffee.html>.
"Karnataka." india.gov.in.N.p., 2010. Web. 11 Dec 2011.
<http://india.gov.in/knowindia/districts/andhra1.php?stateid=KA>.
Kotramada, Nisha. Personal Interview. 29 December 2011.
Muthanna, Uday. Personal Interview. 29 November 2011