Rwanda, Musasa

The Musasa Dukunde Kawa cooperative manages three washing stations in the Gakenke District of Northern Rwanda with this coffee hailing from their first location, the Ruli washing station. Here they process the cherries from more than 1,000 local farmers growing Rwanda’s coveted Red Bourbon variety. As most of these farmers own less than a quarter of a hectare of land, working together as a cooperative allows for their harvest to be combined, processed and exported at significantly better prices.
Cherries are hand-picked only when fully ripe and delivered for processing the same day. After pulping beans from their fruit the coffee is fermented in clean water overnight and then graded in flotation channels to sort higher qualities by density. Over a two-week drying period, these beans are continually sorted and stabilised to 11% humidity. Most impressive of all is the traceability of each lot with its unique code following the coffee from the date of harvest all the way to its export preparation in Kigali.
This precision is paying notable dividends for the farmers and the wider community. The Musasa cooperative is actively reinvesting this and now funds local education, medical care and transport - an impressive example of better quality coffee providing a better quality of life.