India 2003
The second leg of the In Principio journey
In 2003, Salgado photographed the second leg of his In Principio journey in the state of Karnataka in southern India. His photographs among the coffee crops shaded by tall plants of tropical fruits, nutmeg, pepper and cardamom, and in large covered areas where the beans are sorted, evoke the rhythm and flow of daily life on the plantation.
Although India is not a traditional coffee-growing country, it has some of the best plantations of Arabica coffee which contributes a full body and pleasant, light bitter tingle to the blend.
The illycaffè 2005 quality award was presented to a community of Indian Jesuit monks who run the St. Michaels' Estate plantation in Palamalai, in the region of Tamil Nadu. The community hosts 60 families from the Palears Tribe who devote themselves to growing top quality coffee. They are to use the prize money to renovate the pulping house, where coffee is pulped and dried after harvesting, and to create an education fund.