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Field Notes from Xã Lát: Rooted in Regenerative Coffee & Indigenous Farming

Join a behind-the-scenes journey to Xã Lát, Da Lat — where sustainable coffee isn’t a trend, but a quiet revolution. From compost-fed soil to community wisdom, this field note documents real partnerships and the honest work of regenerative farming.
Field Notes from Xã Lát: Rooted in Regenerative Coffee & Indigenous Farming

🧭 Field Notes from Xã Lát: Mapping the Groundwork for Sustainable Coffee

I didn’t come to Xã Lát seeking a story — I came to verify one.

As part of HuyEco’s preparation for the 2025 coffee season, I visited this highland commune to assess the readiness of farms transitioning toward regenerative practices. My role is layered. Beyond supporting NGOs working in the region, I’m also a coffee producer with over eight years of hands-on experience growing, sourcing, and roasting sustainable coffee. My café, HuyEco Coffee & Culture, is based in Da Lat, and we’ve distributed whole beans across Vietnam since we started.

I came here not to impose, but to listen — and to better understand where meaningful partnerships can be built, starting from the soil.
 

A shared moment at a local café in Xã Lát: the author and Miwa (his Japanese partner) stand alongside members of the coffee cooperative — a gathering of producers, culture, and connection.
At the village café in Xã Lát: myself and Miwa with a group of cooperative farmers who have quietly led the shift toward regenerative coffee. This isn’t a photo op — it’s a real meeting of minds. People who grow, roast, and serve with conviction, standing together in a place they’ve built for themselves.

📍 Xã Lát: Coffee at 1,500 Meters, Rooted in K’Ho Chil Wisdom

Xã Lát sits at roughly 1,500 meters above sea level, nestled in Da Lat’s cold, hilly terrain. The farmers here belong to the K’Ho Chil ethnic group — a branch of the wider K’Ho community with distinct cultural heritage. Their primary livelihood is agriculture: coffee, vegetables, and flowers. While many traditional practices have faded through history, some persist quietly — in the way land is cared for, and food is shared.

The transition toward sustainable farming is slow, but intentional. I met several households who’ve stopped using herbicides, now relying on composted chicken manure, fish extract, and natural nitrogen. These techniques aren’t just learned from NGOs — they’re remixed with ancestral knowledge, and adapted for the reality of the hills.
 

A handful of rich soil beneath a coffee tree: mixed with rice husks and chicken manure, it speaks to the regenerative care behind each cup.
Holding the soil that feeds the roots: a mixture of rice husks, chicken manure, and mountain microbes. Not just fertilizer, but philosophy — nurturing life from the ground up so that each tree stands in healthy rebellion against depletion.
Miwa seated beside a coffee garden tended by hand: intercropped with native squash and cucumber varieties that outcompete weeds through resilience and climbing growth.
Miwa, sitting by a coffee plot where weeds are managed not by herbicides, but by native squash and cucumbers — vigorous climbers that shade out competition and nourish the soil. Here, even the act of growing is an invitation to rethink dominance, control, and coexistence.

🧑‍🌾 A Farmer Leading Quiet Change

Among them is a farmer in his early forties who leads the local cooperative and serves as the commune’s agricultural advisor. He welcomed me into his farm, and later to a village café run by cooperative members. They roast and brew their own coffee — no branding, no slogans, just honest beans served by those who grow them.

He has been pursuing sustainable practices for nearly a decade. I watched him apply fermented compost with care. His farm hasn’t seen herbicides in 13 years, and the soil — thick, dark, resilient — tells its own story.

Though he didn’t dwell on yield issues, I could read the patterns. Based on my own eight years of farming experience, I estimate that his output may fall by 30% this season compared to conventional chemical-based methods. But he spoke with quiet satisfaction about something else: he can now harvest and eat from his own garden without worrying about toxins.

“Coffee used to only bring money,” he said. “Now it brings food, health, and dignity.”
 

Walking through a farmer’s garden in Xã Lát: a quiet moment of connection among crops, earth, and community knowledge.
Wandering through a local farmer’s garden in Xã Lát — where every bed, vine, and tree reflects generations of care and quiet mastery. No showcase, no pretense. Just a living classroom where soil speaks louder than words.
A coffee plant affected by pests: a visible consequence of transitioning to organic cultivation, with projected yield losses of 30–50% this season.
Organic farming isn’t romantic — it’s a battle. This season, we’re facing crop loss from pest pressure, with yields expected to drop by over 30%. But this is part of the process: resetting the soil, rebalancing the ecosystem, and learning that health comes with growing pains.

🔍 What I Witnessed — and What Comes Next

That moment stuck with me.

After nearly a decade committed to regenerative agriculture myself, I met a farmer who’s done the same, quietly shaping his community without waiting for anyone else. He isn’t asking for charity — he’s making a case for value. And he deserves to be met with respect, not pity.

That’s why I document these visits — not to glorify farmers or tell romantic stories, but to understand what’s already working. My goal is to find viable pathways to support farmers who’ve already made the leap, whether through direct sourcing, knowledge sharing, or small-scale collaboration through our café and our website huyeco.vn.

Holding a native cucumber: large in size, sweet in taste, and vigorous in its growth — a testament to nature’s resilience.
A native cucumber, grown without fertilizers or fuss. Big, bold, and sweet — it thrives on grit, not control. In a world chasing uniformity, this local variety reminds us what it means to grow with character.
Group photo with local coffee farmers in Xã Lát: Miwa and the author stand side by side with the stewards of the land, united by soil, story, and shared purpose.
Together in the garden: Miwa and I with the farmers who welcomed us into their soil and story. They’ve taught us that coffee is not just a product — it’s a practice, a place, and a bond. What you see isn’t just a group photo. It’s a portrait of trust.

🏠 From Seed to Cup: The HuyEco Approach

My personal journey has always followed one thread: connecting the farm to the final cup. From cultivating beans to roasting and brewing — I’ve spent the last eight years refining each step, committed to doing it the hard way, the right way. HuyEco Coffee & Culture is a space where that philosophy takes shape — built on transparent sourcing, local knowledge, and regenerative practice.

And this visit to Xã Lát? It reminded me that sustainable coffee isn’t a future dream. It’s already happening — with or without us.

But if we’re willing to meet farmers at eye level — to see their expertise, and pay for their value — then the future tastes different. Richer. Deeper. More honest.

☕ Experience Sustainable Coffee at HuyEco

🔹 HuyEco Coffee Tour – Witness rich soil, green cover, and thriving coffee trees
🔹 Farm Experience – Learn how to test soil, apply organic fertilizers, and intercrop on steep slopes
🔹 HuyEco Café – Enjoy coffee grown with love and regenerative farming knowledge

📍 Address: Alley 29, 3/4 Street, Ward 3, Da Lat, Vietnam
📌 Map: View on Google Maps
🌍 Booking tour: HuyEco Coffee Tour
📦 Order Coffee: huyeco.vn/order-coffee
📹 YouTube: HuyEco Coffee & Culture

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All articles, images and videos in this article are copyrighted by HuyEcovn, please do not use for other purposes.
In case you want to use the materials for non-profit community purposes, please contact the author at email address: huyeco1125@gmail.com
Sincerely
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