Life on Earth

NOTE: This is a combination of earlier entries, and some new writing to comprise a report on the Rwandan Coffee industry and my trip there in February. This also appeared on the Coffee Musings BLOG hosted by the kids at Higher Grounds Trading Co.

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I would have never thought that going to Rwanda would mean hearing more Kenny Rogers than I’ve heard since riding shot gun with my dad. That is exactly what happened while touring coffee cooperatives with, Monika Firl, producer relations manager for Cooperative Coffees in February. Cooperative Coffees is the buyer cooperative that Higher Grounds Trading Company belongs to. Apparently, according to an NPR radio piece by Gwen Thompkins ( Country Music in a Far Country ), country music resonates among many in rural Africa for its story telling focus and references to characters and situations that Africans identify with- namely, uncertainty, loss and frustration with the powers that be. Rwanda’s coffee growers are realizing their own story of resurgence, and the successful ones are doing so collectively by forming cooperatives.

Firl went to Rwanda to further understand where the different producer cooperatives currently are, and where they are heading, in terms of the parameters that cooperative coffees supports. The first priority for 21 roaster strong cooperative is that they be a producer cooperative, and not a private plantation. You simple can’t be certified Fair Trade without being a cooperative. The other conditions Cooperative Coffees has before committing to a producer/buyer relationship is that the producer cooperative is taking steps to improve the quality of their coffee, and they are either organic, or transitioning to organic. They must also be a Fair Trade certified producer.

It is a huge understatement to say that the coffee industry in general, and the Fair Trade industry specifically, is a complex system. As Rwanda is just re-emerging into the specialty coffee market the farmers, the cooperatives and the bureaucracy in Kigali are all showing signs of growing pains as they try to navigate this head-spinning global market. Some of these pains are unavoidable, and some of them are unique to the economic and political culture of Rwanda. There is a tendency here for top down control, and many times a wrong decision, or the lack of one, in the ministry of agriculture can really hurt the development in the coffee sector. Our first stop in Rwanda was meeting with ministers of agriculture and other organizations that have been established, in part through foreign aid money, to promote and assist the local coffee industry.

The Rwandan coffee industry is at an interesting point of development. Rwanda’s economy relies on agriculture for about 40% of its GDP, and 90% of the population is engaged in agriculture to some degree–mostly for subsistence. The country desperately needs growth in the agricultural export market. The turbulent year’s of civil war in the 1990’s decimated the country’s
industries and only in the last five years has reconciliation brought people together for the common good.

In that spirit, the growth of producer cooperatives is particularly hopeful. The country’s primary exports are coffee and tea. Still, the average coffee producer owns only 200 trees. This produces barely enough beans to make it worth the effort, but it also creates a unique opportunity for Rwandan coffee producers to establish a strong niche in the organic, Fair Trade market. One of the main goals of the trip was for Firl to convey the value for producers to put in the extra effort to become certified in both organic and Fair Trade.

Everywhere we visited, people had questions about the need for both. I noticed an intensity in trying to understand the industry in all of the cooperatives we visited. The meeting with the producer cooperative Abakangukiyekawa (IAKB) was particularly interesting to watch Richard Hide of TWIN U.K. explain the added value of entering the organic Fair Trade specialty market while a large group of producers listened. At the end of the meeting, like many of the meetings, they basically wanted to know if Firl was going to buy their coffee this year.

Many Rwandan farmers have been told that if they improve the quality of their beans, they will receive a better price. It can be difficult to convince them that this is not an end goal in itself and that they must continue to narrow their marketability to secure higher prices. The advantage of going organic and fair Trade is that the 1) Organic is a specialty product that requires a premium and 2) Fair Trade guarantees a minimum price will be paid every year. Many quality beans have been bought at higher prices one year, and then the following year seen the prices drop. In addition, many of Cooperative Coffees roaster partners, like Higher Grounds Trading Co., go beyond the minimum Fair Trade price by adding local specific social premiums according to the circumstance of the producer cooperatives, as well as they form relationships with producers that promises that they will be with them year to year. So, it is important that when they choose a cooperative to begin dealing with, that that cooperative show signs that the community has a solid decision making process and be committed to goals of sustainability.

Abakundakawa, a producer cooperative in North Rwanda, showed many promising signs as an emerging cooperative. The cooperative was established in 2004, is certified, and committed to Fair Trade and is transitioning into organic, shade grown production. In addition, the cooperative members consist of 1200 men and 700 women. They also have an agronomist, Niyonzima Diogene, who is very supportive and active in promoting the organic, shade grown production.

After we visited Abakundakawa, we crossed westward into the volcanic region of Rwanda made famous by the mountain gorillas that attract thousands of tourists every year. We noticed the impact of the volcanoes without even leaving the car. From the road, we could see the soil turn into a dark, deep, rich substance that was speckled with volcanic minerals that sparkled in the sunlight. We were traveling to visit a more established cooperative that two weeks prior had won 3rd place in Eastern African Fine Coffees Association cupping competition with a score of 86.08.

Coopérative Pour la Promotion des Activités-Café (COOPAC) is located in the advantageous high altitude region that receives consistent rainfall, and enjoys the mineral-rich soil that we saw as we drove into the town of Ginseyi to meet the cooperative’s founder & managing director Emmanuel Rwakagara Nzungize. From our meetings, Nzungize’s commitment
to high quality, organics and Fair Trade was impressive. The interest of his community is paramount in his goals of development.

As a photojournalist with a strong interest in the coffee industry and a huge supporter of Fair Trade as practiced by Higher Grounds and many of its fellow members in Cooperative Coffees, the trip to Rwanda was an excellent opportunity to learn more about how the chain of production in the coffee industry. It isn’t simple. There are logistics to overcome that are related to an endless list of difficulties involving geography, politics, culture and infrastructure to name just a few.

To view images from the Rwanda trip, click here: Rwanda Fair Trade

I accompanied Monika Firl from Cooperative Coffee and Mike Moon of Just Coffee.

Photo Captions, in order of appearance:

1. Niyonzima Diogene, the agronomist for the Abakundakawa cooperative in North Rwanda, explains some of the practices of the farmers to cooperative coffees representatives, Monika Firl and Mike Moon.
2. Tom Bagaza, director of SPREAD, makes a point during a meeting between representatives of Cooperative Coffees and SPREAD. Cooperative Coffees is a Fair Trade import cooperative in North America. SPREAD, Sustaining Partnership to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development, is a recipient of foreign aid money to assist the local coffee industry.
3. Producer Biziwnga Ruikira of the producer cooperative (IAKB) Abakangukiyekawa listens intently during a visit by Cooperative Coffees to discuss the possibility of creating a business relationship with the Rwandan coffee producers on February 20, 2007.
4. Nyirawahero Constance stands in front of her small holding of coffee trees. She is one of the members of the Abakundakawa producer cooperative in North Rwanda.
5. Idyagu Gregory performs for visiting coffee buyers at one of Cooperative Pour La Promotion Des Activities-Cafe’s (COOPAC) two washing stations on the shore of Lake Kivu in Rwanda’s volcanic mountain region along the shores of Lake Kivu. The farmer cooperative also has assembled a large performance troupe that performs traditional song and dance, called Intore. The Intore troupe is made up of farmers from the surrounding region.