Rwandan Women’s Coffee Extension
We are excited to share our newest single origin coffee with you. This special Rwandan coffee comes from the Women Coffee Extension (WCE) at the Mbizi Coffee Washing Station, a three and a half hour drive southwest of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda (and about 7,000 miles from Newbury). Founded in 2017 by Aline Christine and Odette Uwamariya, the WCE is a women’s coffee cooperative focused on creating a space for women specialty coffee producers to have a stronger voice in Rwanda coffee production.
Rwanda, known as “the land of a thousand hills,” has the ideal conditions for growing coffee: high altitudes, rich volcanic soils, adequate rainfall, and cooler temperatures. Coffee is now the country’s fourth largest export. Underpinned by its National Coffee Strategy, Rwanda has seen significant growth in coffee cooperatives since 2005, and in particular women’s cooperatives, to address gender imbalances in the coffee sector, share skills training, take on new roles in the coffee value chain, and generate off-season income for coffee farmers. Today, 57 percent of Rwandan coffee growers are women.
In less than 10 years, the WCE has grown to over 700 women coffee producers, increasing production from 3 kilograms to 4 kilograms per tree. The Mbizi Washing Station has doubled its production of dried coffee fruit (cherries) ready for export. In addition to agricultural and skills training for its members, the WCE also offers services that strengthen the members’ families and communities, including family planning and nutrition programming and the distribution of livestock.
Coffee cooperatives such as WCE offer women access to skills training and control over resources; access to international markets and its resulting benefits; and increased voice, agency, and meaningful participation in economic decisionmaking. Women’s economic leadership has been proven to contribute to community well-being.
As WCE grows, it plans to expand its program offerings for the benefit of their members. Attaining Rain Forest certification will allow the cooperative to increase the premium of their coffee, bringing more income directly to the women coffee growers. In the future, WCE has the goal to provide cows to all of its members, cover health insurance costs, and build a sewing center and nursery school.
UVCR first learned about the WCE through our importers. We immediately connected with their effort to increase access to healthcare, childcare, and financial autonomy for women. When women make up 70 percent of the coffee labor force but only own 20-30 percent of coffee farms, purchasing lots directly from women’s collectives allows us to invest our money in the women of these local communities that bring us the delicious coffee we enjoy each morning.
As one of only a few women-owned coffee roasteries in the New England region, we value supporting women in every phase of the coffee value chain. We hope you enjoy this latest lot characterized by notes of green apple, lime, and peach. We’ll have WCE’s single origin available on your shelves and for online order soon.
