We Nitrogen Flush all of our coffee when bagging for an inert shelf stable environment by locking freshness inside for up to 6 weeks prior to opening
Producers: 248 Contributing smallholder farmers
Mill: Ruli Washing Station
Owner: Dukunde Kawa Co-operative
Region: Ruli Sector, Gakenke District, North Province
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1960 masl
This 100% Red Bourbon lot was produced by 248 smallholder farmers who deliver coffee cherry to Ruli washing station, one of three washing stations owned by the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative. Ruli is located close to the small town of Mususa, in the Ruli Sector or Gakenke District, in Rwanda’s rugged and mountainous Northern Province.
Ruli was established in 2003 and is the largest of Dukunde Kawa’s washing stations. It serves as the head office for the cooperative’s management team and the site also encompasses the cooperative’s dry mill and its dairy operations. The washing station sits at 1,920 meters above sea level, overlooking a beautiful landscape of rolling green hills and rich, red earth. A total of 1756 farmers (1104 men, 652 women) deliver cherry to Ruli, which employs 36 permanent staff and increases by another 222 seasonal staff during the harvest period.
The area surrounding Ruli has mineral-rich soil and a lush environment that is well suited to specialty coffee production. Typically, farms are situated between 1,800 to 2,100 meters above sea level. The producers who contribute to the Ruli washing station own an average of one tenth of a hectare of land, on which they farm coffee, along with subsistence food crops like maize, beans and sorghum and some livestock like goats and chickens. Cows are also an important asset to a farming family. Besides having practical advantages – like providing milk and yoghurt to feed the family, producing excellent manure for the coffee farms, and being an opportunity for additional income – they are also a traditional symbol of wealth and status in Rwanda.
Words, Photos & Sourced by Melbourne Coffee Merchants.