Fred's family has been farming coffee since 1940, and he inherited the farm from his father.  Farming remains a family affair - Fred’s wife Nightingale and their six children help out with weeding and, during the harvest season when picking is an all-day job, they help with picking the ripe red cherries.

Despite the fact that Robusta coffee is indigenous to this area and tends to grow well, during the dry season someone needs to walk down to the spring at the bottom of the hill to collect water, often a slow and laborious task. Fred and Nightingale also grow eucalyptus trees as a renewable fuel source, and keep cows and goats.

Along the edges of their land, massive vines of passionfruit stretch their tendrils around the bamboo fence. With a bumper crop, they also sell the fruit, but generally coffee is their only cash crop.