• Region: Gakenke district, Northern region
  • Founded: 1999
  • Producers: 1962, including 740 women
  • Certifications: Fairtrade, Organic
  • Varieties: Bourbon
  • Soil type: Sandy clay
  • Harvest time: February to June
  • Shipment time: May to December. Exported by Misozi
  • Elevation: 1600-1762m
  • Post-harvest process: Fully-washed at one of two central washing stations (both owned by the coop, a third washing station in progress for 2017); double fermentation for 36 hours); 4 covered tables for handsorting; dried on raised tables; stored in ventilated warehouse (60MT capacity); coffee pulp distributed to farmers for compost. Dry-milled at CBC.
  • Quality and the cup: Fully Washed Arabica Grades A1 and A2, including Coffee Grown by Women. Layered, pineapple, lemon verbena, grapefruit, berry, sweet.

Summary

Abakundakawa, meaning ‘those who love coffee‘, is a firmly established cooperative founded in 1999. Since then, they have made significant and lasting changes in the local community, including giving all members access to health insurance and providing them with cows every year since 2007. When a cow has a calf, it is given to a different member, and in this way, the number steadily increases. This improves family nutrition and gives the potential for a small additional income by selling any extra milk. 

In 2017, the cooperative will build a third washing station for those members who currently have to travel the furthest. The farmers have opted to use some of the Fairtrade premium to build a community centre, used for meetings and social events, such as weddings. They have also contributed to supplying water to the local secondary school and health centre and to improving the road.