We would be delighted if you were able to join us for what promises to be a truly inspiring trip to visit our producer partners in DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda and to participate in three international cupping events. The full trip runs from Friday 19th May to Friday 2nd June 2017, or you can tailor it to join us for part of the trip.
Twin has been at the forefront of the specialty coffee revival in Congo and is co-founder of its first ever international cupping event, the Saveur du Kivu, now entering its third year. We will visit Muungano Coffee Cooperative, producers of outstanding quality organic Fairtrade certified coffee with an extensive program led by farmers on gender justice, and then we will participate in the Saveur du Kivu.
In Burundi and Rwanda, Twin is working with 10 cooperatives in Burundi and 10 in Rwanda to improve quality and processing capacity and market opportunities in collaboration with TradeMark East Africa. We will learn first-hand from the farmers about their commitment to sustainable and high-quality coffee production, and cup their coffees to evaluate this year’s harvest with the opportunity to buy.
The Congo and Burundi legs will be led by Soizic Le Lasseur and the Rwanda leg by Mollie Moisan, both Twin marketers. The cupping events in Burundi and Rwanda will be co-hosted by Drew Billups from Atlas Coffee.
Itinerary
DR Congo
Friday 19 May Arrive in Kigali, Rwanda
Saturday 20 May Travel overland to DR Congo – via Goma to Kiniezere
Sun 21 to Mon 22 May Visit Muungano Coffee Cooperative around Kiniezere
Wed 24 to Fri 26 May Saveur du Kivu cupping event in Bukavu
Burundi
Monday 29 May Visit cooperative washing stations and meet the farmers
Tuesday 30 May Cupping evaluation with 10 cooperatives’ samples in Kayanza
Rwanda
Thursday 1 June Visit cooperative washing stations and meet the farmers
Friday 2 June Cupping evaluation with 10 cooperatives’ samples in Kigali
Please RSVP to [email protected] by Friday 5th May if you can join us to discuss the details, logistics and visa requirements. For DR Congo and Burundi you will need to present letters of invitation with your visa applications to the relevant embassies in your home country to obtain entry visas. Saveur du Kivu can arrange this for Congo, see http://www.saveurdukivu.org/#logistics, and Twin for Burundi.
In the UK, the Congolese Embassy requires 2 to 3 weeks and the Burundian Embassy requires 14 working days to process a visa application. An entry visa can be purchased on arrival in Rwanda.
A few more details…
For more info on the Saveur du Kivu visit http://www.saveurdukivu.org/
Twin and Rwandan coffee partners will be participating in the Let’s Talk Coffee Rwanda event (7-11 June 2017, Kigali). Let us know if would like to stay on and join in, http://www.letstalkcoffee.org/ltcrwanda/
To download this invitation on PDF format please click here
