Day 69 - Private planes, fuel shortages, and other unknown unknowns
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To be honest, I never thought I’d find myself in that group—people who charter private planes. But life is full of surprises. Then again, after years in Georgia, I’m no longer surprised by surprises, so the excitement is somewhat muted. But before we get to the airplane part, let’s start from the beginning.
The first Daga coffee beans began their journey to Estonia while I was still there, walking with the farmers down to the coast, each of them carrying bags of beans. The good news is that all the beans from the warehouse in Gwirot village have been sitting for several weeks now in a warehouse in Alotau, the regional capital, waiting to be loaded into a container.
Unfortunately, the logistics challenges in general continue. There were about 4 tons of beans in Gray's shed in Gwirot—too small a quantity for export, given the regulations and challenges in Papua New Guinea. So, while I was there, we agreed with farmers from neighbouring villages to include their 2024 harvest as well. (Just to remind you: Daga hasn’t shipped out any coffee in the past three years, so beans are stored in various villages across the region.)
When I started my journey back to Estonia, we had what I believed was an agreement for over 8 tons of beans, which should’ve been on the move within 3–4 weeks. Unfortunately, I soon heard from Gray that the group leader from one of the other villages had backed out—no clear explanation. They didn’t find another buyer; their beans are still sitting there. They simply decided not to sell to us.
The first Daga coffee beans began their journey to Estonia while I was still there, walking with the farmers down to the coast, each of them carrying bags of beans. The good news is that all the beans from the warehouse in Gwirot village have been sitting for several weeks now in a warehouse in Alotau, the regional capital, waiting to be loaded into a container.
Unfortunately, the logistics challenges in general continue. There were about 4 tons of beans in Gray's shed in Gwirot—too small a quantity for export, given the regulations and challenges in Papua New Guinea. So, while I was there, we agreed with farmers from neighbouring villages to include their 2024 harvest as well. (Just to remind you: Daga hasn’t shipped out any coffee in the past three years, so beans are stored in various villages across the region.)
When I started my journey back to Estonia, we had what I believed was an agreement for over 8 tons of beans, which should’ve been on the move within 3–4 weeks. Unfortunately, I soon heard from Gray that the group leader from one of the other villages had backed out—no clear explanation. They didn’t find another buyer; their beans are still sitting there. They simply decided not to sell to us.
It feels familiar—reminds me of the kind of “games” we’ve seen plenty of times in Georgia over the years. It’s somehow easy for everyone to stick together in hardship and complain that life is tough. But when opportunities arise, some take action and try to bring change. Sadly, others get caught up in status, ego, or fear, and instead of cooperating to build something lasting, they’d rather sabotage the progress, perhaps hoping the next opportunity starts with them.
It doesn’t make sense—neither from a human nor a business perspective. Our goal was and is to support the people and farmers of Daga, and we’d gladly work with all the different farmer groups (and I’m confident we eventually will). But if they don’t want us to buy their beans today, there’s not much we can do.
So, what can we do?
A few weeks ago, Gray opened discussions with people from even more remote villages. Just to remind you, Gwirot was the farthest village I reached, and that was two full days of walking from the coast. But there are villages even farther—three or four days away—and they grow coffee too.
It turns out that in the village of Agaun, there are almost 35 tons of coffee beans from the past three harvests. Agaun is a four-day walk from the coast. For context, getting a 50kg bag from Gwirot to Sirisiri involves a 300km journey and 12 days of walking. From Agaun, it would be over 500km and almost a month on foot to get a sack of beans to the coast.
Even in Daga, there are limits.
That’s where the airplane comes in. After exploring all our options, I decided the only realistic solution was to charter a small aircraft and fly some of the beans out. Early last week, we paid for four flights from Agaun to Alotau to transport 4–5 tons of the 2024 harvest. The flights were scheduled for April 24–25.
That’s where the airplane comes in. After exploring all our options, I decided the only realistic solution was to charter a small aircraft and fly some of the beans out. Early last week, we paid for four flights from Agaun to Alotau to transport 4–5 tons of the 2024 harvest. The flights were scheduled for April 24–25.
But as of today, the beans are still in Agaun. Can you guess why? There’s no fuel available at Alotau airport…
Otherwise, it’s actually a decent small airport. Planes with 70–100 seats fly from there to the capital every day—this is the entry point to the whole region, and I used it myself when going to Daga. But no fuel… and nobody seems to know for sure when the next shipment will arrive. The only thing we do know: it hasn’t yet. The latest forecast says Tuesday, in two days. Personally, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Well, that’s the thing. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be Renegade. The main thing we have learned over the years is to not give up…
Otherwise, it’s actually a decent small airport. Planes with 70–100 seats fly from there to the capital every day—this is the entry point to the whole region, and I used it myself when going to Daga. But no fuel… and nobody seems to know for sure when the next shipment will arrive. The only thing we do know: it hasn’t yet. The latest forecast says Tuesday, in two days. Personally, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Well, that’s the thing. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be Renegade. The main thing we have learned over the years is to not give up…