The Lubuk Gadang People's Coffee Cooperative is a coffee farmer community in Sangir District, South Solok Regency. This community was founded in 2020 by a group of farmers who were affected by the decline in coffee prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 54 hectares of Arabica and Robusta coffee land at the foot of Mount Kerinci that they manage has great potential for production development. However, there are limited capital to accommodate the harvest of all members and limitations in market access and business management. The Lubuk Gadang People's Coffee Cooperative then sought to strengthen the management and development of the cooperative business.

The program is implemented from February 1 to April 30, 2024 through the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding. The main focus is to improve the cooperative management system, increase production capacity, and provide supporting equipment for the coffee processing process. Starting with a community meeting to socialize the objectives and activities to be carried out, and ensure active participation from all cooperative members. As part of strengthening management, the People's Coffee Cooperative also holds cooperative management training facilitated by WALHI West Sumatra. The training was attended by 15 people, consisting of 11 men and 4 women, with the aim of improving skills in financial management, administration, and marketing of coffee products.

In addition to training, the program also includes procurement of coffee cherry raw materials and production equipment. Funds that were initially planned to purchase packaging machines were eventually allocated for business capital for cooperative members so that they could process coffee cherries at their respective homes. With capital of IDR 2.000.000 per member, 15 cooperative members, consisting of 11 men and 4 women, were able to process 150 kg of coffee cherries into raw coffee beans at their homes. The raw coffee beans produced were then collected at the cooperative's production house to be sold at the local market.

Not only does production capacity increase, but also additional income for cooperative members. In terms of production, the People's Coffee Cooperative has succeeded in increasing the capacity of the processor house by 125%, although it has not reached the initial target of 200%. But keep in mind, previously the cooperative was only able to accommodate and process 1 ton of coffee cherries per month, that number increased to 3 tons. The increase in capacity also has an impact on the absorption of local workers around the production house to work in the coffee processing process.

In the long term, the cooperative plans to develop other processed coffee products, such as ground coffee and roasted coffee. Ground coffee and roasted coffee can be sold in the local market of South Solok Regency, where ground coffee is still dominated by products from outside the region.

The Lubuk Gadang People's Coffee Cooperative focuses on improving the community's economy by building a fair and sustainable production and distribution model. By increasing the production capacity of raw coffee beans and reducing the sale of coffee cherry materials, the cooperative improves the income of members, while also maintaining the sustainability of the ecosystem in the Kerinci Seblat National Park area. Because when the economy of coffee farmers improves, it will immediately prevent farmers from switching to high-risk jobs and/or damaging the environment.