About Pa'O Villages 

A fully washed lot from our friends at Behind The Leaf Coffee. Co-Founded by Melanie Edwards, Behind The Leaf has been one of the few success stories to emerge from Myanmar. Their work with the local Pa'O people in the Shan State of Myanmar, especially the women from the local village of Ta Ngo in the Pinalung Township, has meant that the fruits of their labour are now classed as speciality grade coffee, something almost unthinkable a few years ago.

Employing the women has been a boon for BTL but the sentiment is just as beneficial to them. Some are single mothers, others widowed, while the rest care for and maintain their households because their husbands have either left to search for better paying jobs or have just outright left the country because of job scarcity, leaving them to their own devices.

The last few years have been very challenging for everyone involved in the enterprise. BTL stepped in, providing them not only with gainful employment but a litany of wonderful initiatives introduced by Melanie and her organisation. 

They've set up a ‘Bunk Bed System’, with a raised screen table top to sort and dry the coffee beans, and the ground underneath lent to the women, to grow food for themselves at no extra cost.

A seed bank initiative has also been introduced to provide a variety of crop to grow. From ginger and chia, to cucumber and corn this bank means that the women who work for BTL during the coffee season can also rely on crops to help sustain their lives outside of it too.

BTL has also begun to offer literacy lessons to most of the women. As their experience and education of coffee processing increases so should their ability to read and write, Melanie believes.