About This Coffee
Nyampinga, a Kinyarwanda word meaning “beautiful women, both inside and out,” is a women’s coffee cooperative based in the Nyaruguru District of Southern Rwanda. Over the years, the women of Nyampinga have demonstrated growing commitment to producing high-quality coffee and building connections with the international market in order to improve livelihoods for themselves and their families. Since 2013, members of Nyampinga have received training in agronomy, market access and quality control from Sustainable Growers. This combination of hands-on effort and expanded technical knowledge has led to an improvement in cup quality, with Nyampinga coffees now considered among the finest in Rwanda.
A key factor behind improved farming practices is the Premium Sharing Rewards program, which allocates points to farmers for attending trainings and applying what they learn on their farms. Farmers can then use these points to select rewards from a catalog chosen collectively by the group. The program was designed to respectfully motivate continued learning and technical support, while encouraging the adoption of skills that result in stronger crops and better outcomes.
Cultivation
Farms of contributing members are situated at elevations ranging from 1,700 to 2,000 meters above sea level, where Bourbon varieties are cultivated under cool, high-altitude conditions that support slow cherry maturation. On average, each farmer manages around 300 coffee trees, contributing small but carefully tended volumes to the cooperative’s production. This particular coffee was processed as a Natural lot, with cherries sourced entirely from the cooperative’s members.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Ripe cherries are selectively handpicked by members of the Nyampinga Women’s Cooperative and delivered to Nyampinga washing station. Nyampinga Women’s Cooperative operates its own washing station, which processes coffee from farmers all over the area. Cherries are sorted and laid out to dry with cherries monitored and turned regularly throughout the process for even moisture distribution. Once drying is complete and the coffee reaches stable moisture, it is prepared and packed for transport.
Coffee in Rwanda
Despite its turbulent history, today Rwanda is one of the specialty coffee world’s darlings – for good reason! Our sister company in Rwanda does an amazing job of bringing the best that Rwanda has to offer to roasters around the world.
German missionaries and settlers brought coffee to Rwanda in the early 1900s. Largescale coffee production was established during the 1930 & 1940s by the Belgian colonial government. Coffee production continued after the Belgian colonists left. By 1970, coffee had become the single largest export in Rwanda and accounted for 70% of total export revenue. Coffee was considered so valuable that, beginning in 1973, it was illegal to tear coffee trees out of the ground.
Between 1989 and 1993, the breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) caused the global price to plummet. The Rwandan government and economy took a hard hit from low global coffee prices. The 1994 genocide and its aftermath led to a complete collapse of coffee exports and vital USD revenue, but the incredible resilience of the Rwandan people is evident in the way the economy and stability have recovered since then.
Modern Rwanda is considered one of the most stable countries in the region. Since 2003, its economy has grown by 7-8% per year and coffee production has played a key role in this economic growth. Coffee has also played a role in Rwanda's significant advancements towards gender equality. New initiatives that cater to women and focus on helping them equip themselves with the tools and knowledge for farming have been changing the way women view themselves and interact with the world around them.
Today, smallholders propel the industry in Rwanda forward. The country doesn’t have any large estates. Most coffee is grown by the 400,000+ smallholders, who own less than a quarter of a hectare. The majority of Rwanda’s coffee production is Arabica. Bourbon variety plants comprise 95% of all coffee trees cultivated in Rwanda.