Waghi Valley

Historically, the Waghi Valley was home of the Papua New Guinea stone axe tribes. The valley was first explored by Western settlers in the 1930s, mostly through the pioneers Mick and Danny Leahy. Mick and his brother Danny were leaders of the 1933 expedition that opened up the Waghi valley. Coffee was first planted in the early 1950s and went onto become the major crop in the Valley. The Kiam washing station in the Waghi Valley is used for turning cherry coffee into parchment. The coffee is pulped, washed, and fermented for around 72 hours before being transported to the drying field to be dried naturally by the sun. When dry the coffee is hand-sorted.