Category Archives: #SouthSudan

In the Press: The Wall Street Journal Features #WCRGermplasm Expedition in South Sudan

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The Wall Street Journal featured a story by Miguel Bustillo and Solomon Moore on the recent World Coffee Research Germplasm expedition to South Sudan. Read the following excerpt from the story and follow the link at the end to the read full article on the WSJ website. Read More →

In the Press: Wild Arabica species, The genetic key to a sustainable coffee industry

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A World Coffee Research expedition to South Sudan turned into a rescue mission for wild Arabica, with evidence that climate change may see these forests disappear in our lifetime. A.S. Thomas’s 1942 entry into the Empire Journal of Experimental Agriculture is a reminder of times gone by. In an account of his exploration of the Boma Plateau, Sudan, to search for wild Arabica (Coffea arabica), Thomas refers to neighbouring “Abyssinia”, the historical name that included Ethiopia, as well as the then colonial “Anglo-Egyptian Sudan”. Read More →

Emma Bladyka Writes About South Sudan WCR Expedition

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It was the tail end of the dry season in South Sudan. Our base camp, located in the small village of Jonglei, was dusty and despite being at 1100 meters elevation, was well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I had just hiked up all 1100 of these meters, much of which were unshaded, with only the water I could carry. Small huts made of mud and straw sat in the shade of large, broad leaved trees. There was a loud thump next to me and when I looked down I discovered a blushing yellow-green mango. The village was full of mango trees (or maybe, the mango grove was full of village). Read More →

WCR Team Finds Wild Arabica Coffee in South Sudanese Forest

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This past April, a team of experts representing World Coffee Research traveled to the Boma Plateau in South Sudan on a germplasm collection expedition through the forest. The plateau sits across a valley from Ethiopia, considered the origin of the Arabica coffee species. Traveling through the forest, the World Coffee Research team was on a mission to find and collect wild Arabica coffee. The last time a researcher had done a similar trip was back in the 1940s when botanist Dr. A.S. Thomas recorded his observations of a much different Boma forest than what the WCR team found— a forest that was yet unscathed by a changing global climate where healthy Arabica coffee trees grew wild. Read More →