Nyamyumba FW Farmgate Initiative

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Nyamyumba station was built in 2006. It has the capacity to process up to 496 tons of cherry annually. Farmers cultivate an average of 400 trees at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level.

The coffee delivered to Nyamyumba Station is grown in nutrient-rich volcanic clay soils along the high-altitude hills of the Congo Nile Trail. The section that passes Nyamyumba station features beautiful landscapes of rolling hills and views of the clear waters of Lake Kivu. The land around Nyamyumba is also part of the Gishwati National Forest.

Cooperative members selectively handpick cherry and deliver it to Nyamyumba washing station. Upon intake, station employees float and hand sort cherry in order to remove any visible defects or low-density beans. 

Cherry is selectively handpicked to remove any damaged or underripe cherries. The station only accepts perfectly ripe cherry, so farmers take more care when they pick to ensure the maximum amount of cherry is accepted.

Cherry is floated to remove those with insect damage or otherwise low density. Cherry is pulped and then wet fermented for 24 hours to remove the remaining mucilage. After fermentation is complete, parchment is washed in clean water and sent through grading canals to separate into three levels of density (A1, A2 & A3). Finally, parchment is soaked in fresh water for around 20 hours to improve quality and shelf life and to remove any remaining mucilage. 

Then, parchment is delivered to pre-drying tables to be hand sorted. Defects are often easier to catch when the parchment is still wet, so this sorting stage is essential. After sorting, parchment is laid on tables to sundry, where it is also consistently sorted to remove any remaining defects. Parchment is then bagged, sent to RWACOF (Sucafina in Rwanda) and dry milled in their mill.

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.

The Farmer Hub program built retail shops that buy other crops from farmers and sell them to families and schools at fair prices. These retail shops help promote income diversification by creating a market for other crops and they supply nutritious foods at competitive prices. The Farmer Hub program also offers loans to farmers as part of the farm management program.

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.