About this coffee

About the farm

The RUJCAFE (Ruhunde Jeunes Caféiculteurs) cooperative was founded by Geography teacher Danny Fazili Bahati in Ruhunde village to help train and employ young people of working age in the village. In addition to teaching Geography at Ruhunde Institute, Danny also works as the main cherry collector for SOPACDI cooperative in Ruhunde.

In 2018, Danny increased production capacity at SOPACDI’s washing station, and his two passions – teaching and coffee production – aligned. Danny began hiring young people to work at the washing station and he invited local leaders to meet with him to find other solutions to the problem of high youth unemployment. Danny and the community leaders decided to form their own cooperative to fulfil this goal, hence founding RUJCAFE.

To help them gain training in specialty coffee production, RUJCAFE partnered with several organisations that support actors in the coffee sector. For example, a RUJCAFE founding member gave away his land to RUJCAFE, which sits a little above Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the cooperative to build a washing station.

RUJCAFE washing station began operating in 2019. That first year, they sold their harvest on the local market to another cooperative. Once a rich coffee growing country, this trend has been halted by a dark past and political turmoil. Today, coffee’s making a comeback as a number of private and public sector actors invest in the country.

About the process

South Kivu has nutrient-rich volcanic soil and ideal climatic conditions for growing Arabica coffee. Smallholder farmers handpick cherry and deliver it to the RUJCAFE washing station. The cherry is pulped in an ecopulper, which can depulp cherry without using water.

After a period of wet fermentation, parchment - green coffee inside its parchment layer - is washed in clean water and laid on drying beds. Parchment is turned frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 14 days for parchment to dry. Afterwards it is dehulled and ready to get roasted.