Ikawa Rwanda

Promoting English Education

2011-06-02T11:53:00.000+02:00

Rwanda’s education system has undergone some significant changes over the past couple years. The introduction of the 9-years Basic Education Program stipulates that all children deserve the right to a free education for at least the first 9 years (grades 1-9). In addition, Rwanda recently switched from a Francophone teaching system to an Anglophone one. These changes posed several challenges for students, teachers and schools. Most students have (and still have in many cases) only a beginner level English; teachers who were used to teaching in French and Kinyarwanda now must teach in English (some took intensive English classes sponsored by the government to improve their skills); and many schools have been scrambling to build more classrooms and desks to accommodate the increase in students.

Primary Level Class

Today, when you visit a typical school, you may here Kinyarwanda being taught in the lower primary levels (grades 1-3) and English being taught in grades 4-9. Rural schools usually have between 600-1500 students in the primary level and 100-300 students in lower secondary level; all on the same campus! Most schools teach in shifts, dividing students into a morning group and afternoon group, in order to have room for this many students.

Our Community Aid projects have helped the 9-years Basic Education Program by building more classrooms at Gihinga, Muhehwe, Kagogo and Vumbi schools (see previous blog postings). In addition, this year we started English tutoring classes on the weekends for the Senior 3 level students (grade 9). These students are getting a chance to practice English and improve their vocabulary during the 3 hour long classes held on Saturdays and Sundays at each of the four schools we support. The extra classes will also help the Senior 3 students prepare for the National Exams which take place at the end of the school year. The National Exam is conducted entirely in English and determines whether or not a student is able to continue on to upper secondary level to finish his/her studies.

Secondary Level Senior 3 Class

With programs such as these, it is clear Rwanda has a strong focus on education and the development of the next generation of leaders. Rogers Family Company hopes to continue supporting these schools and the initiative to promote English education for Rwanda.

Muhehwe School

2010-12-06T11:23:00.000+02:00

Le Group Scolaire de Muhehwe sits perched on top of a hill overlooking coffee fields in the South West corner of Rwanda in the District of Rusizi. The school is part of the country’s nine-year basic education program and therefore offers the first three grade levels (S1, S2, S3) of secondary school as well. The nine-year basic education program is a government initiative to provide free education for all children up to secondary third year (equivalent to 9th grade) as a minimum basis of education. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled in primary and secondary levels at Muhehwe.

New Desks for Muhehwe

Not only are schools across the country building new classrooms for the secondary levels but they are also teaching the younger nursery school children as well. With rundown buildings, broken windows, and not enough desks, Muhehwe was struggling to accommodate the number of students enrolling. Our Community Aid Program, in collaboration with Rusizi Specialty Coffee washing station built one nursery school classroom and repaired four old buildings. We also bought 1,100 English, Social Studies and Math books and 150 desks for the students.

A quote from one of the students: “We are happy for saying thanks to our God who gave you the forces of helping our school…we say thanks to our sponsor Peter Rogers for his heart full of love; he gave us the classes, desks and books…really we can say more to our helper for your sacrifices, so we hope that you will not forget us.”

Busoro Health Clinic

2010-09-30T13:24:00.001+02:00

Busoro is a small community in the Southern province of Rwanda; its population is about 15,000 including the surrounding areas. Because of the lack of health facilities in the area (a walking distance of 4-7 km in between health centers), our Community Aid program in collaboration with the KAY.CO coffee washing station and the local community built a health clinic in Busoro and stocked it with equipment and supplies.

The clinic is currently staffed by one nurse and one assistant (in photo below) who treat on average 20 people a day. The most common illnesses treated are colds, malaria and respiratory problems.

In addition, the local community-based association of people living with HIV/AIDS was given a small plot of land on the clinic grounds to grow vegetables and distribute amongst its members. Counseling and testing is also provided at the clinic.

The clinic has been operating since March 2010 and offers a much needed service for the farmers of Busoro.

From Kigali to California

2010-08-05T15:39:00.003+02:00

It’s August and the coffee harvest season is officially over. The wet-mills finished processing in May and June and are now in the process of exporting their coffee.

The coffee is trucked from the wet-mills to a warehouse and dry-mill facility. The dry-mill removes the parchment (or outer shell) leaving just the green bean.

parchment

In the warehouses, hundreds of ladies sort the green coffee removing damaged or defective beans. This process is very time consuming; it takes one person 2 days to sort a 60kg bag.

After the coffee is sorted and the pre-shipment sample is approved by the cupping lab, the coffee can be exported. OCIR Café, the Rwandan coffee authority, issues a certificate of origin and the bags are loaded onto a cargo container.

From Kigali, the trucks of coffee go to Uganda, then through Kenya to the coast and the port city of Mombasa. This trip takes an average of 4 days. Once the coffee is loaded onto a ship in Mombasa, the trip to California can take 2-3 months.

The process from start to finish is long but the end product is worth it – good quality coffee!

Nyungwe Forest

2010-07-22T10:06:00.001+02:00

On many of our trips to the field to visit coffee farms and wet-mills we traverse the ruggedly beautiful Nyungwe forest in the southwestern corner of Rwanda. Nyungwe National Park is the largest montane forest in East and Central Africa stretching some 1,000 square kilometers and bordering Burundi to the south. The mountains range in altitude from 1,600 – 2,950 meters and boast an array of flora and fauna including 13 primate species (chimpanzees and the Colobus monkey are among the most notable), 300 bird species and 250 different tree and shrub species.

Despite the beauty of the forest, the road through the park is probably the worst “paved” road in Rwanda. Winding its way over mountain passes; the pot-hole ridden asphalt brings travelers dangerously close to the edge of cliffs at times and leaves backs aching and stomachs churning.

An overturned truck, an accident, armed military patrols, speeding buses, wandering tourists, fallen down trees and curious monkeys can all be seen on a typical drive through the forest. The diversity of the forest and the range of scenes one can come across just on the main road makes every journey through Nyungwe a new adventure!

Gihinga Primary School

2010-03-17T13:38:00.012+02:00

The small roadside village of Gihinga in Rwanda’s Southern Province has approximately 6,800 inhabitants, most of whom are coffee farmers. Farmers grow coffee, bananas, beans and cassava. Gihinga Primary School was established in 1946 and currently has about 1,300 students enrolled.

old building

interior of old building

According to the Ministry of Education, normal classroom size should be maximum 45 students per room. Gihinga’s student enrollment far exceeded that with approximately 80 students in each of 16 classrooms. The need for extra classrooms was evident as the school was still using one of the original buildings made from mud bricks; the building was in dire need of replacement. Other classrooms were very dark inside and made it difficult for the children to see the blackboard adequately (there is no electricity at the school).

new classrooms

Our Community Aid program, in collaboration with Shenga Coffee Washing Station and the local community, built an additional 4 classrooms at Gihinga. The new building was inaugurated in February 2010 and the construction project also included replacing metal roofing sheets in all the classrooms with transparent sheets to allow more light in.

interior new classroom

The Voice of the Farmer

2010-03-09T12:51:00.008+02:00

In a previous posting, I talked about the difference between specialty and ordinary Rwandan coffee (see post from June 2009 titled Specialty vs. Ordinary Coffee Processing). Up until about nine years ago, all coffee in Rwanda was processed as ordinary coffee at the farmer’s home. The wet-mills of today were few and far between. The process was very time consuming for farmers who had to remove the pulp using hand operated machines, then clean and dry the beans on straw mats on the ground. This would usually take a farmer all day to do. Farmers would then sell the parchment to a collector who would dry-mill the parchment eventually leaving just the green beans for export.

In 2001, the fully-washed coffee sector in Rwanda took off and eventually more and more wet-mills were built and used to process coffee. Farmers were able to eliminate much of the processing they did at home and sell their cherry to the wet-mills directly after it was harvested. Today there are over 100 wet-mills in Rwanda.

Farmer testimonies reveal the importance of coffee in their lives and the impact of having wet-mills to process the cherry. In Gisaka, Jeannette has been farming coffee since 1952 and has about 200 trees. She said it used to take her all day to process coffee at home but now after she brings her cherry to the wet-mill to process, she can concentrate on tending her fields and growing food such as beans, peanuts and bananas. She said that because of coffee she has been able to send all of her children to school. This year, she will use the money from coffee to rebuild her house that was destroyed.

Also in Gisaka, these three women have been farming coffee for 10 years and have between 80-400 trees each. They started growing coffee because of their housing conditions; they were living in mud huts with thatch roofs. Now because of coffee, they have been able to build solid houses using cement and corrugated tin roofs. They said the wet-mill in their village has helped them save time processing coffee. This year they will spend time growing other crops to feed their families and they intend to buy mulch grasses for their coffee fields with the money they earn from selling the cherry to the wet-mill.

This farmer started growing coffee in Tanzania in the 1930s before moving to Rwanda around 1970. He has 2,000 trees and says that coffee has meant a lot to his family; when he sees his children dressing-up and going to school, it makes him happy and that is all he needs in life. (click play to hear his testimony).

Pocket Change

2010-03-08T11:42:00.006+02:00

During coffee harvest season farmers sell their cherry to a wet-mill which processes it to remove the pulp, mucilage and parchment; eventually leaving just the green bean inside. Using bicycles or baskets on top of their heads to transport the cherry to the mill, farmers are normally paid per kilo of cherry once it’s weighed at the mill. Unfortunately, the price given to farmers is extremely low; Rwandan farmers typically receive 120 Rwf (Rwandan francs) per kilo (about $0.21 cents). Considering that an average farmer only has about 100 trees (each tree only producing on average 5-6 kilos of cherry per year), the math is self explanatory: 100 trees x 6 kgs./tree = 600 kgs. and 600 x .21 cents = $126.00.

Rogers Family Company has committed to change this system. For most Rwandan farmers, coffee is their only income generating crop. They grow food crops such as corn, potatoes and beans, for subsistence but there is usually not enough to sell as well. The money they earn from coffee is used to buy clothing, medicine, pay for children’s school fees or any other need that may arise for the family. Since the cherry price is so low, often farmers process the coffee themselves at home and sell the parchment throughout the year in hopes of getting a better price. However, because it is processed at home, the quality is often questionable.

Rogers Family Company has been trying to increase the minimum payment farmers receive for their cherry at the wet-mill and encourage farmers to produce more fully-washed coffee. Over the last year and a half, we’ve worked closely with the Rwandan Coffee Authority, private exporters, cooperatives and wet-mills to ensure that the coffee we buy is beyond fair trade. If the wet-mills did not pay the farmer enough when he/she sold their cherry at harvest, we asked the wet-mills to make a second payment to the farmer later. At the minimum we asked they increase the price by 50 Rwf ($.08 cents) per kilo. In order to ensure the payments were actually being made, we helped organize and attended the farmer village meetings. Across the country we watched and witnessed as hundreds of coffee farmers lined up to receive a second payment for the cherry they sold to the wet-mill.

In Musha, I met Antoine, a farmer with approximately 7,000 trees who has been farming for more than 30 years. Before the wet-mill in his village was built, Antoine processed all of his coffee at home which took up all of his time. Now that he sells his cherry to the wet-mill, he spends less time processing the coffee and more time tending to the trees. He also earned more in 2009 than ever before; in this photo he just received a second payment of 276,000 Rwf ($485)!

At another meeting, I wandered over to a small store to buy a drink. While sipping my coke, a farmer walked in, slapped down 1,000 Rwf ($1.75) on the counter and walked away with a new pair of sandals. I asked him if this was part of the money he just received at the meeting. He nodded and proudly smiled for my camera.

The small amount of extra money farmers receive may seem insignificant to anyone else, but to a Rwandan farmer, it makes a big difference. What seems like pocket change to you or me meant a new pair of shoes to this farmer!

"All Learners"

2009-11-03T10:47:00.012+02:00

After building 5 classrooms at Vumbi Primary School, our Community Aid Program also recently bought and delivered 2,200 books for the students on English, Social Studies and Kinyarwanda subjects. The impact these books have was shown on the faces of the students and teachers when we arrived. Previously, 4-5 students shared just one book, now there are enough for almost every student to study from a book of their own.

In appreciation for the building construction (which was completed in June 2009) the teachers and students organized an inauguration ceremony to open the new building. There was singing, dancing, a skit, and speeches. One student wrote the following poem for us and read aloud:

Vincent, author of "All Learners"

“All Learners”

All Learners take your first duty,

as it is necessary, for our future life.

All Learners, study well, as it is organized,

by our authorities, understanding their advice.

All Learners, if you study well, you get everything,

you get every life, you defend your country, wherever you are.

All Learners, Help me!

Congratulate, Rogers Family Company, and Caferwa,

For what they did! Making this building, which we are celebrating.

I finish congratulating everyone who is here.

God bless you.

Yours, Nduwayezu Vincent

Student at Vumbi School Complex

The Church at Nyamata

2009-06-21T12:23:00.005+02:00

A purple banner drapes the outside of the building which used to be the Catholic Church at Nyamata. Painted white letters on the banner boldly state, Iyo uza kwimenya nanjye ukamenya ntuba waranyishe – “if you know yourself and you know me, then you can’t kill me.”

Rwanda’s past is marked by one of the biggest failures of humankind. Faith in humanity was lost as friends killed friends, neighbors killed neighbors and one million people died. The story of the genocide has been told over and over; I won’t repeat it here. Countless news articles, books and films document what took place in 1994. Before coming to Rwanda, I read hundreds of these articles, several books and watched documentaries. I tried to remember where I was in April 1994; what was I doing? Since coming here, I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of my Rwandan friends and colleagues. Where were they? What happened to them?

There is an unspoken rule or courtesy we respect in Rwanda - don’t ask people what happened to them during the genocide. In reality, almost everyone here was affected in some way or another. Almost everyone here has lost someone close to them (a friend or relative, or both) or they were perpetrators themselves. Imagine almost every single person was affected in a country with a population of 10 million, imagine. But we don’t ask. People go on with their daily lives; they respect each other, work together and live together. There is a time and place for mourning and remembering, for educating the new generations so that it never happens again. One of these places is the church at Nyamata, one of the many genocide memorials around the country.

The church ceased to be a house of God when ten thousand people were murdered there; 6,800 inside and another 3,200 outside. Charles was the young man who greeted us at the entrance and explained what happened. It was quiet (we were quiet) as he walked us through the church and the surrounding gardens. From the original broken down metal doors, to the tin roof with holes in it from grenades and gunfire 15 years ago, to the piles upon piles of dirty, blood stained clothes, he painstakingly explained what happened (it’s too gruesome to repeat here). Charles spoke barely above a whisper and sighed often, the stench from the clothes becoming more stifling by the minute.

We went outside and he took us underground to the mass graves. Some 40,000 people are buried at the church. The 10,000 that died inside and outside the church and another 30,000 who died in the surrounding area and whose remains were brought to the church for burial. Charles explained that the bodies which could be identified were put in coffins; all others were piled into the mass graves. Skulls and bones lined the wooden shelves as we descended the staircase. We were quiet. It was as if our breath had literally been taken away from us, you just cannot speak, and you cannot fathom what happened. You cannot.

No matter how much you read beforehand or how many films and documentaries you watch, it will never prepare you for what you experience when you visit one of these memorials. Why visit then? Because the memorials are some of the only ways families can begin to reconcile with what happened to their loved ones. They are places where victims can confront their perpetrators; they are places of education and understanding. They are not just places for Rwandans to visit and remember or mourn. Everyone, including foreigners, can learn and pay their respects. They are places where you meet people like Charles, one of only seven people that survived in the church; he was eight years old at the time. He is there everyday, sharing his story.

Sustainable Farming, Social Responsibility & Coffee…

2009-06-15T14:20:00.008+02:00

Farming may seem like simple work, but for the majority of Rwanda’s population, it’s the only work. Most coffee farmers in Rwanda also grow potatoes, bananas, beans and cassava to live on. This type of subsistence farming provides barely enough food to eat on a daily basis; and paying for school fees, visiting the doctor and buying clothes or household items come second to making sure there is a meal on the table at the end of the day.

Growing coffee can help break this cycle of poverty for many farmers. As one of the only crops that can bring a supplemental income to farmers, coffee is becoming increasingly important in Rwanda. Coffee has been instrumental in the establishment of farmer cooperatives and business groups which have brought people together in this former war-torn country. Coffee is also now being consumed at the national level more widely than ever before. This awareness and spirit for coffee as an important cash crop and national beverage is a significant step for Rwanda as the country heals from the past.

The Rogers Family Company (RFC) has been buying green coffee from Rwanda for the last 3 years. As one of the biggest green coffee buyers in the country, we strive to make a difference in the lives of our coffee suppliers; the farmers. We ensure that the farmer receives a fair price for his/her coffee cherry by working directly with the washing station owners who buy their cherry and the Rwandan Coffee Board.

making organic fertilizer

Our agronomist teaches the farmers and station owners how to make organic fertilizer from the coffee pulp (pictures below) and implement proper insect control and plant management techniques in the fields.

insect trap

In addition, we invest in the coffee communities by building schools and health clinics for the coffee farmers and their children. In Rwanda, we have completed the construction of additional classrooms at two primary schools, built student desks and are in the process of building 2 more primary schools, a health clinic and bathrooms at one school. For each project we ask that the community contribute in some way, whether it is in-kind materials and/or labor. The community contribution fosters ownership of each project, ensuring its sustainability and helps to establish a positive relationship between the washing stations, the farmer and Rogers Family Company.

Specialty vs. Ordinary Coffee Processing

2009-06-12T14:48:00.008+02:00

For simplicities sake, there are basically two ways to process coffee in Rwanda; specialty and ordinary. Specialty coffee is processed at the wet mill (or washing station) using large machines and tanks to de-pulp the cherries, ferment and clean the coffee. The beans are then dried on tables and hand sorted for quality and size separation. The process is expensive but allows for more careful quality sorting.

Ordinary coffee is usually processed by farmers at home. Pulp is removed using old, obsolete machines or rocks, (as shown in the pictures below); the beans are cleaned and then dried on tarps and mats on the ground. All beans, regardless of size, are processed together. The process is very time consuming and sorting for higher quality beans becomes challenging. However, if the right cherries are picked, and with proper equipment, care and technique, coffee processed at home can be ‘specialty quality’.

At the consumer level, ordinary coffee is sold in large volumes or bulk with unknown traceability. Specialty coffee is sold in individual lots with verification of origin. Rogers Family Company buys specialty grade coffee from Rwanda.

Vumbi Primary School

2009-06-09T15:29:00.008+02:00

The small village of Vumbi is situated in what is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places in Rwanda – on the shores of Lake Kivu in the Western Province. Vumbi Primary school has an enrollment of about 1,400 students, with about 80-100 students in each classroom. Classrooms are so crowded that students sit outside to take exams so they can't look at each other's tests and cheat (as shown in the picture below). Vumbi Primary School sits on top of a hill and overlooks the lake and coffee farms below. The school also has about 500 coffee trees which the students take care of. Each harvest season they sell the coffee cherry to Caferwa Coffee Washing Station at Nkora and use the money to buy school supplies or repair the buildings.

Most of the students at Vumbi are primary school students; however, some classrooms are being used to teach the first three years of secondary school as well. Early this year, the Ministry of Education decided that some of the rural primary schools should be teaching the first three years of secondary school until more secondary schools are established and built. Currently, not every village has a secondary school, so many students have to walk 2-5 km to find the nearest one. Also, many secondary schools are private boarding schools and too expensive for the average child. These factors prove to be too challenging for many students and they simply forgo continuing their education. The Ministry’s decision is helping to ensure that more children have access to education and a chance to continue their studies. At Vumbi, our Community Aid Program built an additional 5 classrooms at the primary school (pictured below), finishing construction in May 2009 with the help of the community and Caferwa Coffee Washing Station. This new building will help alleviate the over crowed classrooms and provide a better learning environment for the students as well as accommodate some of the secondary school classes already being taught at the school.

A Dance Fit for a King...and Fertilizer!

2009-03-17T17:28:00.007+02:00

The coffee trees were loaded with cherry and hungry. The soils were poor, red and depleted from hundreds of years of cultivation. To improve the coffee soil environment we relied on EM (Effective Microbes) and worms. The EM worked its magic preventing odors and decomposing the rich pulp; the worms feasted; the coffee farmers turned and tilled the pulp mixture until finally the organic fertilizer was ready to apply to the coffee trees.

But before giving it to the farmers - the fertilizer had to be blessed. Traditional drummers and dancers were invited by Karengera Coffee Washing Station and performed several dances (normally performed for the king during his reign) to bless the day and the fertilizer.

Singing "Ikawa, Ifumbire, Amafaranga" (coffee & fertilizer = money) it was a great day for everyone. Now billions of effective microbes have been released to contribute to soil fertility and health!

Kagogo Primary School

2009-03-15T15:35:00.004+02:00

Kagogo is a small community (population about 3,000) of coffee farmers or caféicultures (abahinzib’ikawa) in the North Province of Rwanda. Kagogo Primary School has approximately 1,000 students and 12 teachers – about 80 students per teacher. The school is comprised of 3 buildings with 4-5 classrooms in each building. Because the classrooms are so overcrowded, classes are usually held in shifts, morning and afternoon, each student only studying for ½ day. The school also has 800 coffee trees, several rabbits, a cow and a small garden. The students are responsible for taking care of the animals and garden. Money from selling the coffee cherry to the nearby washing station goes toward buying supplies for the school and funding projects (such as buying the cow). In collaboration with the coffee washing station (ENAS) and the local community, the Rogers Family Company through the Community Aid Program built an additional 4 classrooms at the school and supplied 100 new desks for the students. A much needed addition to alleviate the crowded class sizes.

Iridescent Ladies of the Dark

2009-03-10T17:59:00.005+02:00

Working smoothly under the soil surface, churning and digesting the coffee pulp residues and transforming it into nutritious humus; the iridescent ladies of the dark turn the waste of the coffee washing station into beautiful, vitamin-rich organic fertilizer. Who are these creatures? Rwandan worms! The RFC organic fertilizer program is well underway in Rwanda. The best fertilizer for coffee is a mixture of water, molasses, lime and EM (effective microbes) which helps breakdown the coffee pulp into soil like black matter. Add worms to this cocktail and they digest it further, making it a complete fertilizer for coffee trees. So far, RFC’s agronomic program in Rwanda has trained 20 farmers and washing station staff how to make this fertilizer from coffee pulp waste which otherwise would contaminate the surrounding area. Children in the community have become involved as well, bringing worms to the pulp mixing site; this organic fertilizer will be donated to the cherry suppliers while a new generation of coffee farmers learn first hand how to improve the soil health.

A Typical Rwandan Coffee Farmer...

2009-03-08T16:32:00.009+02:00

A typical coffee farmer (abahinzib’ikawa) in Rwanda…

has only 100 coffee trees
grows coffee as their primary source of income
transports his/her coffee in a basket on his/her head
lives in a rural area on a steep hillside
has between 3-5 children
also grows bananas, beans and fruit trees
has little or no education
comes from generations of coffee farmers
doesn’t know how the coffee business works
doesn’t drink coffee and therefore doesn’t know the value of his/her hard work!

Need a Ride Anyone?

2008-11-02T15:21:00.003+02:00

Lake Kivu

2008-11-02T12:34:00.008+02:00

Lake Kivu is flanked with rice and banana fields in between small picturesque villages. Sweeping slopes of coffee tower above one of the most beautiful areas of Rwanda.

Creativity…

2008-10-29T16:26:00.007+02:00

Children are amazing! When given the challenge, or when faced with the need, they can put together just about anything. Forced to be creative with their inventions because of the lack of resources and equipment, it’s inspiring what we’ve seen so far…

a serenade with a tin can fiddle (held together with a few strings) when we stopped to look at a waterfall.
a soccer ball made from twisted together plastic bags.

What else will the next generation of inventors show us?

Shyira Umutima Kukazi

2008-10-29T16:21:00.012+02:00

“Put Your Heart in Your Work” -

A simple statement on a worn piece of paper tacked to the wall at Nkora Coffee Washing Station – a testament to the work ethic of Rwandan people - hardworking, proud, happy, enthusiastic and willing to learn new things. There is a lot of heart in Rwanda!

Rwanda Tea

2008-10-11T18:13:00.003+02:00

Not only does Rwanda have coffee, tea is also a major crop. In the southern and western regions, hillside after hillside can be seen covered in tea. It is also hand picked and carried in baskets to central collection sites and from there to the tea processing factories.

“I don’t speak Muzungu”…

2008-10-05T14:23:00.001+02:00

Friday on the way back from the field we stopped to have a coke at a roadside stand; as usual, we were soon surrounded by curious onlookers, mostly children, who came to check out the Muzungus. One little boy asked us our names and how we were (in English), we answered (in English) and then he walked away saying “I don’t speak Muzungu.” That’s funny, we don’t either! Muzungu isn’t a language, but we knew what he meant regardless.

Lake Kivu – Cyangugu

2008-10-05T14:14:00.010+02:00

Lake Kivu stretches across the entire western border of Rwanda; to the west of the lake (directly across in this picture) is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The border town of Cyangugu on the shores of the lake separates the DRC from Rwanda. As beautiful as it is, the lake has some serious issues – one of which is methane gas buildup. When I first heard this, it reminded me of Lake Nyos in Cameroon which eventually had so much gas buildup it exploded and hundreds of people in the surrounding villages died of carbon dioxide asphyxiation.

Rwanda is taking measures to subdue the buildup before it becomes too late. There is a power plant on the shore near the town of Kibuye which is working to turn the gas into power. Several organizations are researching and scanning the lake to see how much methane (among other things) is there. Because of the gas, hardly anything lives in the lake – the only thing we’ve seen thus far are isambaza (teeny tiny fish, the size of your finger) which are fried whole and eaten – yumm :(

More info: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3438-lake-methane-could-power-entire-nation.html

Muzungu! Muzungu!

2008-10-05T13:52:00.004+02:00

We bounced along the road through village after village, each town resembling the next until they became a continuous blur one after another. It seemed as if we saw the same store fronts, the same crops, the same trees and even the same people in each town. We were on a mission to see as many coffee washing stations as the daylight hours would allow possible – an introduction to the country and our jobs. However, we soon learned that the children in each village were also on a quest. As quickly as they caught a glimpse of us, they had their hands out and started running alongside the car shouting “Muzungu mpa agacupa, Muzungu mpa agacupa!” Most of them barefoot, they kept pace with the car on the mud, rutted roads – incredible! The kids wanted our plastic water bottles (agacupa), which of course they knew we had because we were Muzungu (white). We slowed down and gladly passed out what we had. Such a treasure – used to carry water to the farms or make toys out of – they will definately be put to good use.

Coffee from seed to cup…

2008-10-04T20:15:00.022+02:00

A planted seedling takes, on average, three years before it will produce commercial coffee beans. Rwanda grows a unique variety of Arabica called “Bourbon Blue”. A typical Rwandan farmer has 100-150 coffee trees. One tree will only produce enough to make approximately 1 pound of roasted coffee beans in one year (or growing season).

Coffee cherries (the fruit in which the beans are found) are harvested by hand picking. This is done several times a season (March – September) because the cherries ripen at different times, depending on the elevation at which they are growing.

A farmer brings his cherries to the washing station by bike (or walking) or he/she sells the cherries to coffee collectors who have trucks. Once picked, coffee starts to lose its value and flavor within 8 hours so the cherries need to be processed quickly. Most farmers pick all day and bring their cherry to the station in the afternoon. The station runs all night.

The owner of the station buys the cherry from the farmer at a pre-determined price per kilo of cherries. Last year the price was pre-determined (by the Rwandan Coffee Board) at 120 Rwandan francs per kilo (about $ 0.10 cents U.S. per pound), not enough to have a decent life. Our company is working towards increasing the income directly to the coffee farmers.

The station wet-processes the cherry to remove the red skin and pulp. Only the beans are left - wrapped in a light skin called parchment. The wet process takes about 32 hours from start to finish for de-pulping, soaking and fermenting; once a batch is started it cannot be stopped until it is done.

After the wet process the beans are hand-sorted to remove the ones damaged by insects or fungus. The beans are then placed on drying tables for 5 days.

During the drying process, hand sorting continues, removing any remaining damaged beans. Once dry, the beans are bagged and transported to the capital city (Kigali) where they are stored until a buyer (roaster) is found.

Once a buyer is found, the beans are dry-milled. Dry-milling removes the outer parchment from the beans. After dry-milling, the beans are taken to the Rwandan Coffee Board where a sample is cupped for quality control. Cupping allows the board to taste any defects in the coffee after which they will approve or deny the batch. The Rwandan Coffee Board stores the bags in their warehouse where the beans are continuously hand sorted again for quality control.

After the board issues a certificate of origin for the coffee, the supplier (i.e. washing station/dry-mill owner) sends a pre-shipment sample to the buyer. The buyer cups the sample and approves or denies shipment.

If approved, the beans are now ready for export and a shipper is contracted to fulfill the order for the buyer. Once the shipment arrives at the buyer’s destination, the beans are roasted, ground, bagged and labeled and are sold to retail stores.

From the store, the beans go directly to your cup of coffee each morning. Enjoy!

Murakaza Neza Mu Rwanda

2008-10-03T16:59:00.010+02:00

Welcome to Rwanda - The Land of a Thousand Hills