Potential of coffee tourism for rural development in Ethiopia: a sustainable livelihood approach

Abstract

The issue of handling conservation and livelihood simultaneously has been a development in debate since the 1980s. The discussion brought a sustainable livelihood framework aimed at addressing livelihood, sustainability, and conservation. And later tourism was added to the sustainable livelihood model as well. This is a conceptual study to examine the potential of coffee tourism for sustainable livelihood and conservation in south-west Ethiopia. A model for sustainable coffee tourism development is proposed. The study found that forest and semi-forest coffee production system which is relatively compatible with sustainability is losing its significance due to low yield and net profit. As a result, farmers are diverting to agriculture, which is threatening the survival of the moist montane ecosystem and the gene pool of wild Arabica coffee. To solve this problem, certification for specialty forest coffee has been implemented but failed to deliver livelihood improvement though little progress has been observed in the conservation aspect. It is concluded that unless a rural development approach compatible with livelihood improvement and conservation implemented, the survival of the montane forest and the gene pool of Arabica coffee is endangered. Therefore, a sustainable livelihood model for coffee tourism compatible with conservation and livelihood improvement is recommended to make the region a niche tourism destination.