Sustainable Coffee & Agriculture Helping Rebuild in Rwanda
When I think of Rwanda, I think of two things: The genocidal political-tribal conflict in which some 800,000 died and the plight of endangered mountain gorillas that the dedication of American zoologist Diane Fossey made known around the world. More than a dozen years after the horror of the former, a host of individuals and organizations are trying to rebuild a society and an economy.
As it turns out, Rwanda has some prime coffee growing regions and a tradition of cultivating old “heirloom” Bourbon coffee berries on small private farms. One problem the local farming cooperatives face is getting their coffee berries to processing and transshipment stations as quickly as they can to ensure the best quality possible.
Lacking money to purchase vehicles and draft animals due to lack of fodder, farmers’ ingenuity led them to build bikes and carts from wood, rubber, and odds and ends like duct tape. Needless to say, pushing 300 pounds of coffee berries on a 50-pound wooden bike 5 to 10 kilometers is a bit cumbersome…and tiring, points out Jay Ritchie, former program manager for the Rwanda Coffee Bike Program and SPREAD (Sustaining Partnerships to enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development), a five-year USAID project lead by Texas A&M University.
Catalysts for sustainable agriculture around Lake Kivu
The Rusenyi coffee grown on the shores of Lake Kivu in Rwanda’s Western Province has been voted the best among other types for its high quality. This Arabic specialty coffee was selected for its aroma and citric taste against three other coffee varieties from Maraba in Rwanda’s Southern Province and others grown in other parts of Rwanda as well as in Colombia.
Rwanda is home to almost 500,000 small-holder coffee plantations, where an average of 200 coffee trees are cultivated and which are the main sources of income for rural Rwandans, according to SPREAD. It’s estimated that Rwanda’s coffee sector generates between $15 million and $35 million in annual foreign exchange earnings, depending on annual production volumes and the New York Board of Trade commodity price for coffee.
Researchers estimate that Rusenyi coffee growers would earn a US$0.15/lb. or higher premium for their green coffee if the time required to transport berries from fields to the local washing station was reduced from six to 12 hours to two to four.
Project Rwanda, along with USAID Rwanda and others, is trying to remedy this situation by establishing a number of programs that aim to assist Rwandans to become self-sufficient and generate an income through agriculture. Establishing the Rwanda Coffee Bike Program is one. It has come up with a specially-designed, load-bearing bicycle that it is marketing to local farmers on credit at minimum cost (around US$120 or 70,000 Rwandan francs) which expected quality premiums should cover.
We have received 1000 coffee bikes for the 2007 coffee season, and distributed roughly 600 of them. The rest are waiting to be distributed soon. There are 800 more bikes in customs at the moment and we are currently trying to figure out the best way of rolling these out,” Ritchie told TriplePundit. “Qualitative benefits are easy to be seen when coffee bike farmers tell their stories of being more productive in selling more goods and transporting them in shorter amounts of time.
Convincing farmers to buy the bikes poses a problem, but SPREAD is making efforts to inform farmers of their benefits, as well as explaining the organizations role, motivations and capabilities in getting the bikes designed, built and shipped to the area from Dahon, a Chinese manufacturer.
The non-profit is also trying to drum up support for the program from coffee roasters, importers and retailers around the world. They are offering premium AA green Rwandan coffee at cost (US$2.00 per lb. at last word) as well as labels for coffee bags in return for a $1.00/lb. tax-deductible donation.
Outside coffee buyers/projects are interested,” Ritchie commented. “Bourbon Coffees in Rwanda wants to be involved in the years to come and SPREAD wants to help with this. Sustainable Harvest out of Portland, Oregon is also interested in importing the bikes in Tanzania. And currently we are looking in Malawi and Zambia for interested buyers.
Coffee buyers in the US, such as Portland's Stumptown Coffee Roasters' Bikes to Rwanda NGO, is purchasing the bikes and assisting with maintenance for Karaba, a Rwandan coffee cooperative they buy from.
