Rwandan coffee beans are an important part of our coffee blends at Seattle Coffee Company. The country’s sub-tropical climate and terroir create the perfect environment for growing some of the best coffee in the world. While Rwanda produces top-quality coffee, the economic state is still in a precarious position. This is due to its history of colonisation and the devastating genocide in 1994, which meant that Rwanda pretty much had to rebuild its coffee industry from scratch. Many Rwandans still face a lot of hardships in day-to-day life, so when we heard about this incredible initiative by a local business owner, we had to share the story!
Coffee Villages
Coffee Villages is one of the partners in Rwanda we source beans from and is owned by Tom Bagaza, a local from the area. Tom grew up in a small village without roads, hospitals, or school buildings. His first school experience was being taught to read under the shelter of a tree. When Tom became a university student in the early 2000s, his ambition was to develop and support his community.
Tom has since constructed two coffee washing stations and a dry mill where farmers in the local area can bring their produce and receive a fair price for their coffee. After establishing Coffee Villages, most of the washers and dryers Tom employed were women and he soon recognised that they could benefit from more support. Tom gathered the women of the community together and asked them what additional assistance would be most useful to them. The resounding answer was the need for goats.
Why Goats?
Goats are a valuable asset in the community for several reasons. They provide nutritional benefits from the milk they produce, they are relatively easy to manage (especially compared to cows), they reproduce quickly and goat manure is great for fertilising coffee trees.
With this awareness our sourcing partner Union, created a special clause in the contract of sale for Coffee Villages. The agreement stated that Union would donate $0.05 for every pound of coffee that they purchased, towards acquiring these goats. Coffee Villages has since provided a full container of coffee beans to Seattle Coffee Company. As a result of this sale, Tom was able to distribute 60 goats to the community – one per household.
We love supporting businesses like Coffee Villages, which has such a positive influence on the local community. It is really at the core of why we choose to work with ethical sourcers and is a huge part of spreading the joy of specialty coffee.
