Is There a Way Out for Tobacco Farmers? Lessons from Rejo Mulyo
As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on the stories that shaped our work this year — stories of entrepreneurs and farmers choosing hope in the face of long-standing challenges, and of communities building more resilient futures with the right support at the right time.
One story that continues to stay with us comes from the hills of Temanggung, Indonesia, where former tobacco farmers are working their way out of cycles of debt and dependency, building a different kind of future through organic coffee and community-led cooperation.
To honor the courage and clarity of the farmers leading this transition, we captured their journey in a short documentary.
Through the Rejo Mulyo cooperative, farmers are shifting away from the juragan debt system toward a model grounded in trust, stable prices, and shared responsibility. This transition reminds us why the right kind of capital matters — capital that supports people as they change systems, not just crops.
At Beneficial Returns, this is exactly the kind of work we exist to support. We partner with entrepreneurs and cooperatives who are building resilient local economies and stewarding their ecosystems, and we structure capital to meet them where they are.
As you consider the year ahead, we invite you to stay close to this mission. If you’re interested in aligning your capital with enterprises like Rejo Mulyo — or if you know someone who shares this vision — we’d love to hear from you.
For readers who want to dive deeper into Rejo Mulyo’s work, you can revisit our earlier blog post detailing their transition from tobacco to coffee and the Beneficial Returns loan that supported their expansion.