Kibirizi Kundakawa Muhinzi Women’s Cooperative FW 

This Fully washed lot is the result of a collaboration between Kundakawa Muhinzi Women’s Cooperative and Rwacof (Sucafina in Rwanda). After receiving workshop training on the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) methodology, the group adopted the initiative and received start-up capital from Rwacof, helping strengthen their savings program, launch income-generating activities and improve their livelihoods. 

This partnership reflects Rwacof’s recognition of the important role women play in coffee farming. Through agronomic training, women farmers at Kundakawa Muhinzi Women’s Cooperative have been able to improve the quality of their coffee while receiving better premiums for each lot. 

Rwacof began operating Kibirizi washing station in 2021. Since then, Rwacof has supported partner farmers in improving their incomes and livelihoods by providing training in Good Agricultural Practices and sustainable land management. Rwacof also helps farmers obtain RFA certifications. 

This coffee reflects Rwacof’s deep connection to origin and its long-term commitment to the communities and people at the heart of Rwanda’s coffee sector.  

Farmers in the region cultivate coffee at the elevation of over 1,770 meters above sea level, on predominantly acidic, well-weathered clay to clay-loam soils. These factors create optimal conditions for coffee growing, allowing coffee cherries to mature slowly and develop complex flavors. Production is mainly driven by smallholder farmers, each cultivating around 200 to 600 trees on tiny plots. 

For this lot, each woman farmer from Kundakawa Muhinzi Women’s Cooperative cultivates an average of 300 coffee trees. Rwacof supports them through agronomic training, including regenerative agriculture initiatives. These trainings help improve coffee yields and quality while paving the way for more sustainable farming practices in the long term. This work is expression of Sucafina’s purpose of ‘Creating Opportunities to Improve Lives’.  

Women farmers from Kundakawa Muhinzi Women’s Cooperative selectively handpick and deliver ripe, red cherries to Kibirizi washing station. At Kibirizi, their cherries are sorted and processed separately. Members of the cooperative receive a premium for the cherries they deliver. 

Freshly picked cherries are hand sorted and then floated to ensure only cherries of optimal quality are processed. Selected cherries are then pulped using the station’s drum pulper. The coffee is dry fermented for 12 hours and then washed in clean water.  

The parchment is laid on raised beds to dry. Throughout the drying stage, workers rake the parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 13 to 30 days for the parchment to dry. 

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.