Rwanda: Kivu Kageyo Peaberry

The washing station Kageyo lies in the highlands surrounding the southeastern shores of Lake Kivu in Rwanda's Ngororero district. In fact, Kageyo was the 1st place winner of Rwanda's Cup of Excellence coffee competition in 2011. But other than winning this competition, the cooperative struggled during this time, taking out a bank loan to build a new wet mill that low harvests and insufficient mill capacity made it difficult to repay. A private exporter stepped in to help out, purchasing the wet mill, but leaving the farmer cooperative structure intact. This has benefited the coop in that they are absolved of their loan debt, have a direct connection with the specialty market through a well-established export partner, and retain a supply chain that is completely transparent. The wet mill recently underwent renovation, expanding their milling infrastructure in order to increase their production capabilities. The association is made up of small farmers situated around this 2000 meter wet