Wouter, a 32-year-old Belgian man, is one of the most welcomed foreigners among local coffee growers in Pu'er city, Yunnan Province. If it were not for strict company guidelines, Wouter would probably be eating and drinking with the farmers everyday.
Wouter is very famous in Pu'er. He easily stands out everywhere he goes, with his nearly two-meter high figure. His half-baked Chinese does not stop him from discussing issues like selection, seeding, and fertilization with coffee farmers; as well as their most concerning issues, pests and diseases.
Following his fathers footsteps to China
Wouter spent 18 years with his father in Burundi, Africa. Later, he returned to Belgium and entered university to major in tropical plants. After graduation, Wouter lived in South Africa and Tanzania with his father. There, Wouter used his university education to teach farmers how to grow coffee in backward areas. He enjoys his life and believes he was destined to be a coffee lover.
Wouter admires and thanks his father Jan De Smet, a fourth-generation coffee expert, sent by Nestle to Yunnan to grow coffee beans. Back in the late 1980s, Nestle began to help local farmers to plant coffee and signed purchasing contracts with them. Farmers, those used to survive by growing corn, rose out of poverty by growing coffee beans. They built new houses; got married; and bid farewell to poverty. In 2004, Jan De Smet retired. Later, Wouter took up his father's role and came to Yunnan to continue helping coffee farmers resolve arising problems.
Everything well-arranged
Even though he has lived in China for years, Wouter still follows Belgian-style working habits. He gets up at 6:00 am every day, followed by a cup of coffee. At 7:30 am, he drives his green Cherokee onto the road. He spends half the year working at a Nestle experimental demonstration farm. Mondays and Thursdays during coffee harvest season are the busiest. "Basically, I have to answer over 200 phones calls, all from coffee farmers, asking for coffee prices. Recently, prices have been pretty good. Farmers hope to get money immediately to do their New Year's shopping," Wouter said.
Just before the Chinese New Year, Wouter took me to his farmer friends' home in Dakaihe village, Nanping Town, in Simao District. Chen Jiahua, 48 years old, is busily working on his new home. He told me, "I do not know this foreigner's name, but his father is my good friend. I used to grow rice. Life was so tough. It was his father who often visited our village and taught us how to grow coffee. He is a really nice guy. He never dines in ours; although he receives many offers daily. Now I grow 20 acres of coffee, which bring me 70-80 thousands yuan in income every year. All my children have gotten married. So now, I can build a new house for myself."
Chen's wife invited Wouter for a drink. He showed her bottled water to express thanks.
Helping farmers rise out of poverty
Some people might assume Wouter would feel lonely in China. Wouter said, "My life here is much better than in the small village in Africa. After all, Pu'er is a city. I can find everything here. My wife and I live a happy life. If I went back to Belgium, I would be an alien. Additionally, farmers here are willing to learn. They long for development and a better life. As a result, there are often many students in my class. They are very smart and quickly master the knowledge and apply the techniques and skills in practice."
Wouter is truly a coffee-holic. He consumes six cups of coffee per day to remain in high spirits. Coffee has become the "water of life" for him. Wouter even realized his dreams and found his life's value in coffee. "Growing coffee and making coffee are both very hard work. But every time I see people here getting out of poverty through growing coffee, I know all the hard work is worthwhile."
By People's Daily Online
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