Saudi Coffee Company, Culinary Arts Commission Sign Agreement to Preserve Heritage

The Saudi Coffee Company signs a cooperation agreement with the Culinary Arts Commission to promote and preserve Saudi Arabia’s unique and diverse culinary heritage. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Coffee Company signs a cooperation agreement with the Culinary Arts Commission to promote and preserve Saudi Arabia’s unique and diverse culinary heritage. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Coffee Company, Culinary Arts Commission Sign Agreement to Preserve Heritage

The Saudi Coffee Company signs a cooperation agreement with the Culinary Arts Commission to promote and preserve Saudi Arabia’s unique and diverse culinary heritage. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Coffee Company signs a cooperation agreement with the Culinary Arts Commission to promote and preserve Saudi Arabia’s unique and diverse culinary heritage. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Coffee Company announced Thursday the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Culinary Arts Commission to promote and preserve Saudi Arabia’s unique and diverse culinary heritage.

The agreement will help promote Saudi Arabia’s coffee product as one rooted in the past, present and future of Saudi society.

It will celebrate Saudi Arabia’s coffee heritage, support the development of the national coffee industry and empower local talents.

The company is a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund established to transform Saudi Arabia’s Coffea Arabica into a global product.

“The Saudi Coffee Company is ramping up efforts to be a pioneer in developing the coffee industry in Saudi and celebrating coffee heritage with the Culinary Arts Commission,” Saudi Coffee Company CEO Raja al-Harbi said.

He stressed that the agreement is a major step that will help the company communicate its values and message to the public.

Mayada Badr, CEO of the Culinary Arts Commission, said: “Our cooperation agreement with Saudi Coffee Company aligns with our mission to share the richness of our culinary arts and traditions with the world. “

This agreement will further enhance the Kingdom’s long-standing legacy of coffee growing, underscoring the Company’s distinctive product, Badr added.

The terms of the agreement include plans to work across multiple platforms including content creation, sponsorship, marketing and merchandising opportunities to market Saudi Arabia’s coffee beans more widely.

It provides for collaborative work between the commission and the company in several areas, such as a program to develop a media library and local culinary arts stories and the designing and marketing of tourism routes for coffee plantations.

It will support Saudi coffee events and festivals, issue licenses to Saudi coffee experts, encourage local production, promote the company’s products in digital shops specializing in Saudi culinary arts, and set standards for the processing of coffee beans.

The Saudi Coffee Company’s vision is to ensure that the national coffee industry is enabled along its entire value chain, from bean to cup.

It will play a vital role in developing sustainable coffee production in Saudi Arabia’s southern region, home to the world-famous Coffea Arabica.



Indonesia's Mount Ibu Erupts More than 1,000 Times this Month

Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
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Indonesia's Mount Ibu Erupts More than 1,000 Times this Month

Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain.

Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky in an eruption on Wednesday, AFP said.

Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.

It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since January 1 by Indonesia's Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 and 4 kilometers above its peak, according to the agency's data gathered by AFP.

The latest big eruption occurred on Sunday at 1:15 am local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5 kilometers into the air.

"The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post," the agency said in a statement.

It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone.

Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters.

Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season.

"There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate," said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter.

Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June.

Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano's peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash.

As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion.

Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.