Background - the Rwandan coffee industry in crisis
Coffee berries
VSO (Jonathan Penson)
The lush, mountainous country of Rwanda has near-perfect conditions for growing quality coffee: excellent rain; the right altitude for Arabica beans . But after 1989 the Rwandan coffee industry found itself in a crisis. The main reason for this was that in 1989, the United States government, under pressure from multinational corporations, refused to re-sign the international coffee agreement which ensured stable prices. 75% of Rwanda’s income comes from coffee. World coffee prices dropped massively. The Rwandan economy collapsed within months.
Creating Change
500,000 of Rwanda’s 8m population are coffee growers. Some of these farmers decided to work together and create the Abahuzamugambi Co-operative. Other organisations began to get involved, in particular Project Pearl, a Non-Governmental Organisation working in agricultural development in the south of Rwanda. Working in conjunction with Pearl, the co-operative decided that the best chance of circumventing the low price of coffee was to enter the specialist, connoisseur market. This had bucked the trend in recent years, maintaining a steadier, higher price. A certification system was implemented, which awarded status to 400 good farmers in 2001. Now there are 1,500 members of the co-operative. Pearl has been working on quality improvement for the last two years.
Coffee growers, part of a co-operative in Gisunzu District, These growers are not part of a Fairtrade scheme, and receive only 100 francs for a kilo of skinned, washed and dried coffee beans. They are having to leave the beans on the trees as the price is so low.
VSO (Jonathan Penson)
Getting Fairtrade Status
The co-operative was helped initially with $80,000 in grant aid from various sources and the local community contributed materials and labour. Pearl is gradually pulling away from the project, to allow it to become self-sufficient. Abahuzamugambi made a profit of $30,000 in 2002, $20,000 of which was re-invested in the co-op and $10,000 shared among its members.
Co-op members, however, were still getting half the price that they had received ten years previously for their coffee. There was a need to ensure higher, stable prices, guaranteed prices and a long term relationship with a suitable roaster. Union Coffee Roasters, a trading company, worked with the roasters to gain Fairtrade status from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO). Abahuzamugambi received Fairtrade accredited status in 2002.
The Benefits
The social impact in the community has been huge.
- In Rwanda, only 6% of children can attend secondary school: The co-operative guarantees the growers that their children´s school fees, books and uniforms will be paid, by providing them with loans.
- The co-operative has bought into the government´s health insurance scheme, which helps with growers with the cost of healthcare. In a country where life expectancy is less than 40 years, good healthcare is very important.
- Many houses have been improved
- The co-operative has started a scheme which provides a security service to protects its growers´ coffee from theft.
- Before the co-operative started, there was no local bank. Now, the co-operative has organised its own bank branch, which all the villagers can use. It opened in March 2003. About 200-500 financial transactions are undertaken each day from funds kept in Kigali. As well as a valuable service, the new bank has brought more employment opportunities to Maraba
- There are also programmes to educate the workers about AIDS, poverty reduction and gender issues. A canteen has been built at the washing station to provide cheap food for the workers.
- With the extra income, the co-operative has also been able to invest in washing stations and de-hulling machines. This means that they can increase the value of their product by taking it further along the production chain. It has also greatly increased the employment available to women in the village.
Pearl has the task of increasing rural incomes, and began working with four other coffee projects last year. These are awaiting inspection visits for Fairtrade status. Pearl hopes to have another 10 projects this year.
Coffee beans drying in the sun, Rwanda
VSO (Sara Edstrom)
Growers’ Stories
Habimana François He was one of the founding co-op members in 1999. He used to sell his beans at the local market. Even with 2,000 plants, his annual income from coffee was not enough to sustain his family. But since the co-operative has begun to prosper, things have begun to improve: “I have been able to purchase three cows and to diversify my crops to include bananas and sorghum, and, with my credit at the bank increased almost twenty-fold, to invest in the co-op´s canteen.”
Rusangamwa Jean-Marie Vianney, 43 “With the extra money I´ve been able to build a house, re-habilitate my plantation and purchase a plot of land near the road where I want to sell agricultural produce.” This will enable him to provide a secure livelihood for his family, including sending all his children to secondary school. In addition to the extra money the co-op has brought him, he also finds he now has extra time for other enterprises.
Gema, 52 Gema works at the washing station, where she is responsible for the drying stage. She also does some hand-sorting at the hulling station. “I was able to pay the school fees for my eight children, rehabilitate my plantation, and buy a cow and a goat. I even hired some help to work in my plantation. I have bought clothes for my whole family. And now, I drink coffee!”
Vénérande, 46 Vénérande lives alone with her four children. She hand-sorts the beans at the washing and hulling stations. “I have bought five cows, a pig, and four goats. No need to say that I eat a lot better! I have also helped one of my sons to build his house, and have provided another one with secondary education. And now, I also drink coffee!”