Rwanda | Akagera Ikizere

Producers: Five Women Smallholders: Jeannette Mukashyaka, Beata Nyiranzabandora, Virginie Murekatete, Lea Kamugenzi, & Suzane Kampundu
Region: Bushekeri, Nyamasheke
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1600-1900masl
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Notes: Peach, Brown Sugar, Tea
Roast: Light-Medium

For our second coffee in our Limited Release Series, we decided to reach out to our friends at Baho Coffee!

Baho began managing the Akagera processing station at the beginning of the 2020 season. As is standard practice for Baho-owned stations - training, inputs, and substantial contributions towards health insurance premiums are provided for all farmers delivering. Each station has an agronomist on site that organizes training sessions focused on topics such as coffee plant care (fertilizing, pruning, harvesting, etc), importance of our traceability efforts, and environmental protection. Various inputs like fertilizers and new coffee seedlings are provided free of cost to all farmers. Baho is involved a step further here as well - helping farmers with transportation to gather materials and lending tools/equipment when necessary.

Meaning confidence in Kinyarwanda, Ikizere is Baho’s flagship initiative of more traceable lot separations. The group is composed of widowed women and single mothers who share the unique challenges of navigating traditionally patriarchal systems - both the Rwandese society as a whole and more specifically coffee production.  Through supporting the Ikizere project, Baho hopes to aid in developing a stronger sense of community between the women and create a platform upon which their voices can be heard.

From Baho Coffee:

The relationship between Ikizere Women and BAHO Coffee Co. Ltd is based on humanity, social development activities and trying to change and improve living style of this group. We have so far started by training them about coffee growing, good agricultural practices, and coffee quality handling. It is a group with high level of understanding, commitment, and determination. We are developing them to make their group one of the well known women group for high coffee quality and model coffee farms. We are doing many activities with them such as training on coffee agronomy, social responsibility , access to finance with focus on saving groups, etc. We do pay them the highest cherry price every season and we make sure they are the happiest farmers not because they are women, not because they are single mothers responsible of families, but mainly because their high commitment to deliver quality coffee to our washing station. We pay them annually health insurance 100%, we give them short term loans for family development, we gave them clean drinking water line, and we have more many ideas collected from them and we will keep advocating and supporting to significantly change their lives.