Excelsa coffee is native to South Sudan and a few other African nations, and farmed in a handful countries in Asia. — Photos: AP
Catherone Bashiama runs her fingers along the branches of the coffee tree she's raised from a seedling, searching anxiously for its first fruit buds since she planted it three years ago. When she grasps the small cherries, Bashiama beams.
The farmer had never grown coffee in her village in western South Sudan, but now hopes a rare, climate-resistant species will help pull her family from poverty. "I want to send my children to school so they can be the future generation,” said Bashiama, a mother of 12.
