Stanislas Kayitera Akagera Anaerobic Natural

Stanislas Kayitera is a devoted coffee farmer from Western Rwanda. A family man, Stanislas relies on the annual harvest to support his loved ones. His busiest time is from the second week of March to the third week of April, when red cherries are perfectly ripe for picking. Stanislas, his family and seasonal workers meticulously hand-pick during the harvest season to ensure the highest quality. His commitment to sustainable practices and quality ensures a good income, creating a bright future for his family and showcasing his pride in his craft.  

Our partner Baho Coffee began working with Akagera station in 2020. The station was previously owned by a cooperative of farmers. Akagera, recognizing the exceptional effort that Stanislas makes to ensure only good cherry is delivered, took special care to separate his delivered cherry for individual processing, maintaining traceability to farm level. This is rare in Rwanda, where most farmers (due to small scale production) have their coffee processed along with other farmers delivering to the washing station on that day.  

Akagera CWS selected Anaerobic Natural processing to further add distinction to this already special lot.  

Stanislas and his family tend to 5,281 coffee trees on his 2.6-hectare farm, which is situated not too far from Akagera washing station.  

Farms around Akagera station range from heights of 1,535 to 2,000+ meters above sea level. These high altitudes make the land particularly well suited for coffee cultivation. Most farms in the surrounding area cultivate coffee and/or tea, which also does best at high altitudes.  

“Farmers are motivated to produce quality coffee but their efforts are not 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.  

As part of Rusatira’s dedication to coffee farmers, Akagera station, in addition to most of Baho’s stations, also organizes Farmer Field Schools (FFS). FFS are groups of 20-30 farmers who live and farm close to one another. The farmers elect a lead farmer who attends trainings at the station. The lead farmer returns to their area and teaches the group they lead using a centrally-located demonstration plot. Through the FFS, farmers learn about soil conservation, water protection, waste management and more.  

During the harvest season, cherry is selectively handpicked by Stanislas, his family and seasonal workers. Accepted cherry is then placed in floating tanks that are then used to separate heavy, high-quality cherries from lighter, lower-quality ones. Sorting work consumes over 70% of seasonal labor, but Rusatira knows it is worth it.  

Once sorting is complete, fermentation begins. For this lot, Akagera used dry anaerobic fermentation. Cherries are placed in plastic barrels, covered, and kept under shade to regulate temperature. Fermentation lasts 72 hours. Once complete, workers hand-pick the fermented cherries out of the barrels. 

After fermentation, cherries are spread on well-ventilated drying beds to ensure airflow and prevent overheating. Shade nets are used to cover the beds, allowing air circulation while filtering out direct sunlight. To avoid rapid drying and preserve flavor, cherries are moved in and out of shade multiple times throughout the day. At Akagera, exposure to direct sunlight is limited to 6 hours each day in the late afternoon due to local climate conditions. Drying continues for 34 days until the cherries are ready. 

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. 

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.”  

Bourbon is a specialty coffee darling known for its excellent cup quality and good performance at high altitudes. The variety is susceptible to the major diseases, which can make it difficult to grow. Bourbon traces its heritage back to Yemen. French missionaries introduced Bourbon from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now known as La Reunion) in the early 1700s. Bourbon takes its name from the island where it prospered. Bourbon has had a huge effect on modern coffee varieties as one of the major ascensions for many varieties grown across the world. Today, Bourbon is available in both yellow and red varieties. 

Rusatira Emmanuel is the founder and owner of Baho Coffee. Rusatira established Baho Coffee in 2013 after a long career in coffee that began as a washing station manager and culminated in a position as head of a department, managing a number of stations. Today, Baho Coffee oversees four washing stations across Rwanda. With one station in each of the coffee producing provinces, Baho Coffee has access to a wide range of profiles and processing methods.  

In addition to providing a number of educational, financial and agricultural services to farmers, Baho Coffee also has several social programs that are geared towards helping farmers, especially marginalized groups like women, older farmers and youth.  

Rusatira, who was personally affected by the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994, focuses on helping women because he understands firsthand that many families lost many male members during the genocide. As a consequence, Rusatira explains, many Rwandan families are headed by women. Single motherhood—whether caused by the genocide, lack of access to family planning or other circumstances—is often lonely and isolated. Rusatira’s intention is to bring typically isolated single mothers together and ease that isolation while also providing support and training to help them improve their circumstances. 

 Rusatira’s plan is to process and sell the coffee from women-led families separately. A key part of this plan is to include not only a wide range of information on the lives and conditions of the women in the group but also to include a letter, written by the women in the group, detailing how their station and their customers can help them overcome specific challenges in their lives.  

In addition to his program to help single mothers, Rusatira is also focusing on helping older farmers continue to feel relevant and to support young farmers in establishing and improving their farms. He is confident that Baho Coffee’s impact will continue to grow year after year. “As a small company we’re on a small scale,” he said. “But I keep extending.”