Rwanda Karambi Natural

About this coffee

The Karambi Natural coffee is produced in the district of Nyamasheke in the western province of Rwanda that borders the Nyungwe Forest National Park. It was built in 2016 and is, to date, the sole station that Rwacof has built from the ground up. The farm is just under a hectare in size with the altitude in the region starting at 1700m and extends up to 2000m above sea level, with the coffee being provided nutrients from a rich clay soil. Karambi serves a wide range of farmers in the region, and over 66% of the farmers delivering to the washing station are women. The cherries once farmed are sent through a strict sorting process to ensure the highest quality coffee is used for the final product. The natural coffee is sent through a washing and floatation station in order to remove the lower quality cherries. Trained staff are then utilized to visually inspect the remaining cherries to sort out any visual defects. Finally, after this selection, the cherries go straight to the raised beds and are raked frequently to ensure an even drying process. This process as a whole takes on average 3 weeks to complete, before the coffee is fully dried to then be processed. As the farmers are paramount to the production and overall end quality of the coffee bean, they are heavily invested in, to help improve their skills, production line, efficiency, and financial literacy. Rwacof’s Farmer Field School shares information with all their producer partners about the best agricultural practices, conservation tactics, and the importance of managing personal income and savings. Practices like these show that coffee production is bigger than the coffee itself. The efforts employed by suppliers and farmers help to build a more supportive and cohesive environment resulting in better work flow and efficiency, leading to an overall higher quality product.