"Representatives of foreign companies coming here find it very exciting that these tribals living in the valley and still following their customs and traditions are producing high-quality organic coffee. They are surprised that the tribal cooperative also has fair trade and organic certification and they immediately want to do business with them," Rao says.

Situated 115 km from Visakhapatnam, the extremely scenic Araku Valley overlooking the Bay of Bengal is a favourite tourist and picnic spot. It is situated at a height of 900 metres above sea level in the Ananthgiri hills in Eastern Ghats, and has thick forests and rolling hills. It is accessible by both rail and road, with 45 tunnels on the road linking it to Vizag.

The thick forests of the valley are an ideal place for growing coffee as the tall silver oak trees provide the right shade and light for the plants.

Before the NGO stepped in, tribals used to actually cut the huge silver oaks to clear land for agriculture, leaving many hills bare. Now, apart from helping them monetarily, the coffee trade has also helped the tribals realise the importance of conserving the forests.

Unlike Karnataka and other coffee-growing states, Araku does not have huge private estates. "Instead, there are small holdings of one or two acres owned by tribal farmers," says Joint Director of Coffee Board M C Ponnanna. He says they are pitching in with technical assistance to the tribals, interacting with them and providing information to improvise.

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