Muriel Pénicaud's photographs at the heart of Araku Coffee

While participating in the Indian Photo Festival, Muriel Pénicaud traveled to Bengaluru for the opening of the sixth Araku Coffee café. There, she reunited with the farmers she had photographed a few months earlier in the Araku Valley during harvest season and accompanied them on their first visit to the café. Muriel Pénicaud spoke with journalist Darshita Goyal about this unique experience:

"When the farmers posed as couples, they were shy and stiff at first. Then the translator and I asked them to pose as if it were their wedding day, and they started smiling." Another instruction provoked laughter: "Pose as if you were in Bollywood."

The experience took on a particularly moving dimension when these farmers discovered a professional coffee machine for the first time.

"They had never seen a coffee machine before... Understanding how much their coffee is valued and sold was a very powerful experience. They felt a deep sense of pride and belonging," says the photographer, adding that the couples also talked with regular customers.

Read the full article on the website of The Voice of Fashion