Ngoma Natural

Located near the town of Kavumu, the land surrounding Ngoma station is covered with dense forests and peppered with hills. The station was built in 2005 by the Rwanda company, MIG (Multisector Investment Group) Coffee, who received help from a USAID program aimed at renewing Rwanda’s coffee industry. Today, Ngoma is co-owned by MIG Coffee and Coffee Business Center (CBC).

MIG is a private initiative supported by the government of Rwanda that works in the development of Rwandese agriculture.  

The producers who deliver cherries to the Ngoma washing station typically grow coffee on small plots of land that have 200 trees on average.  

The station mitigates environmental impacts by converting pulp from processing into organic fertilizer that is distributed to farmers to provide additional nutrients to their trees. 

“Farmers are motivated to produce quality coffee but their efforts are not [historically] well remunerated. Coffee prices are not meeting farmers’ expectations,” says Rusatira Emmanuel, Managing Director of Baho Coffee. This is why washing stations countrywide, including those owned by Baho Coffee, are striving to incentivize high quality coffee production with better prices and support for farmers seeking to improve the quality of their harvest.   

In the early 2000s the Rwandan government, with the input of international partners, identified coffee as a potentially key generator of much needed export revenue. To improve the quality of coffee, the government has incentivized the creation of new washing stations in coffee producing areas and has partnered with local stakeholders to make sure that farmers are the main beneficiaries.  

As one measure to this end, the government supports washing stations by providing inputs. The stations, in turn, transport the inputs from government warehouses to the area so farmers can access them more easily. The station is also involved in training farmers how to use inputs properly. 

Ripe cherries are picked and delivered to Ngoma washing station. Cherry is hand sorted at intake, and damaged, overripe and underripe cherry is removed before pulping. Floating tanks are then used to separate heavy, quality cherries from lighter defects. 

Selected cherries are taken directly to raised drying beds. Continuous hand-picking throughout the process ensures that any remaining defects or foreign matter are removed. This careful preparation contributes to the lot’s fruity, complex and occasionally wine-like flavor profile. 

Drying is carried out under the sun on raised beds and requires close attention to detail to prevent mold development. Cherries are turned regularly every 3 hours to ensure even drying, while shade nets are used to cover the beds during the hottest hours of the day or in periods of rain. Defects are continuously removed by hand throughout drying. Moisture content is carefully monitored, with this lot reaching its target of 12% moisture in 35 to 47 days. 

Rusatira says he drew inspiration about drying from cooking methods. “When you take meat and you put it on charcoal, after 20 min you have your meat ready. But in an oven, it would take 45 minutes. If you put it in hot ash, it may take two hours. When you taste these three meats, there's a difference in the taste,” he says. “I have this kind of thinking that coffees that dry slowly, the taste and lifespan of this coffee may be longer and more delicious than the coffee that dries for 10-12 days in sun.” 

All Baho stations employ their own extended grading system to separate beans into different qualities and sizes. At Baho Coffee stations, coffee is separated into grades A, B and C. Then, grade A is further separated into three grades and grade B into two separate grades, with C remaining a single grade. “It’s more work,” Rusatira says. “But it gives my coffee a chance to excel.” Rusatira believes that “coffee talks” and he likes to listen. Establishing additional grades allows him to interpret each individual bean’s ideal grouping and create more uniform and delectable lots. 

In concert with our sustainability partner, Kahawatu Foundation, RWACOF invests heavily in yield improvements, farmer training, quality improvement projects, environmental sustainability and other ways to increase farmer livelihoods.

RWACOF’s Farmer Development Program in partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE) supports farmers with training in Good Agricultural Practices and access to loans, farm inputs and farm services. A new soil health initiative uses soil analysis data that RWACOF collected to identify farms where soil is too acidic. Lime, along with education about application, is distributed to these farmers to help improve soil quality. Additionally, seedling nurseries provide up to 4 million seedlings per year to help farmers renovate their rootstock.

RWACOF also has many projects that are designed to support farmers’ overall livelihoods. They focus on gender equality and support several women’s cooperatives by helping them access land, seedlings and reach a market for their coffees. They offer trainings on financial literacy and alternative income-generating activities.

On the environmental side, RWACOF has worked with partners to help install solar panels at 2 washing stations that are off the electrical grid. RWACOF’s dry mill already have a 50 kilowatt-per-hour solar panel set up on their roof. They’ve also mapped carbon emissions in their coffee supply chain and are starting projects to half their emissions per kg of coffee. Two ways they’re accomplishing this is by facilitating a transition from inorganic to organic fertilizer and further improve waste (water and pulp) management at the wet mills. They’re also working with Trade in Space to map deforestation in the supply chain so that they can begin to work with farmers to reduce deforestation and improve forested areas in the supply chain.

Above all, RWACOF's exceptional attention to detail during post-harvest activities ensures the best quality coffee possible. From the moment cherry enters the washing station until it is milled and bagged for export, RWACOF keeps stringent quality controls in place. They know, as we do, that high-quality coffee is crucial for delivering benefit all along the supply chain.