Announcing the First Bird Friendly Coffee from Africa! By Menkeli Kanaa March 17, 2008 Ethiopia – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) has announced that Anfilo Specialty Coffee Enterprises (ASCE) has been certified bird friendly - the first in Africa to obtain this certification. SMBC’s first bird friendly certified coffee from Africa comes from two woredas (sub sections), of western Wellega, surrounding the Gerjeda Forest Reserve. The areas include some 600 hectares of undisturbed wild coffees that are self- sown, and grow under the full coverage of natural forests. The coffee is grown at an altitude of 1800 to 2400 meters above sea level (5905 – 7874ft). Those two weredas, Anfilo and Gidami, are among other important coffee producing weredas that also surround this forest reserve. The growing trend in today’s coffee market is for certification programs, which assure consumers that their purchases are grown under environmentally and socially responsible conditions Bird friendly c...