Feature Filter: Bumbogo (Washed) | Rwanda

About Bumbogo, Neza and Muraho Trading Co:

Bumbogo is a washing station in the Gakenke District, owned and operated by Neza Trading Company, partnering with Muraho - our key export partner in Rwanda. Built in 2017, the station grew quickly and now receives cherry from over 520 local farming families. The station is expertly managed by Fidel Munyensanga for the last 6 years and produces traditional washed, honey and natural processed coffees. Muraho not only export Bumbogo’s coffee, providing access to global markets, but also provide further support such as agricultural trainings and seedlings distribution to farmers and assistance in improving the station’s infrastructure. This washed lot is a beautiful example of a crisp, juicy and sweet coffee you can expect from Rwanda.

About Raw Material - our importing partner:

Raw Material are a community interest company green coffee importer operating in the UK, EU and Australia. The work of Raw Material is centred around the vision of “speciality coffee as a solution”. A solution to sustainably improve the livelihoods of the many small-holder producers who have been historically marginalised and not receiving adequate value for their produce and contribution in the supply stream.

As RM explain:

Often the price farmers receive is lower than their cost of production. This situation leads to cycles of debt and disadvantage that compounds over generations.

The choices of the specialty coffee industry have an outsized ability to influence positive outcomes for producers and the wider environment. The value of the specialty coffee market continues to accelerate with a projected compound annual growth rate of 11-12% across the next 5 years. Total market value was estimated to be 35 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to grow to over 80 billion USD by 2025.

This is an exciting opportunity for development through trade. This is one of the few crises in the world for which the solution is direct and self-sustaining: with the appropriate investments and continued effort, the growing demand for high-quality coffee can be fulfilled by historically marginalised groups to great long-term effect.

To change the world, we need a powerful strategy. This requires that we make tough choices not just about what we will do but also what we will not do. We don’t search for the best coffee. We search for the right communities and work with them to build systems to produce high-quality coffee and connect to a stable marketplace. When the solution is well designed and community-led, results can be achieved very quickly.

Raw Material currently focus on working with producers in Colombia, Mexico, Rwanda & Timor Leste and they are our supply partner for Mexico and now also Rwanda.

You can find out more about their vision, impact and methods here.