Maraba Coffee is a Fairtrade coffee produced in the Maraba area of southern Rwanda. About 2,000 smallholder farmers grow the coffee plants under the Abahuzamugambi cooperative, founded in 1999. Since 2000, the cooperative has been supported by the National University of Rwanda and the Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages. The cooperative, which includes many growers who lost family members in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, has improved coffee quality and penetrated the specialty market. Farmers' revenues have increased, allowing for livestock investments, affordable medical insurance, and improved education. Maraba's coffee plants are the Bourbon variety of the Coffea arabica species and are grown on fertile volcanic soils on high-altitude hills. The fruit is handpicked, mostly during the rainy season between March and May, and brought to a washing station in Maraba where the coffee beans are extracted and dried. At several stages, the beans are sorted according to quality. The beans are sold to various roasting companies, with the highest quality beans going to Union Coffee Roasters of the United Kingdom and Community Coffee of the United States. (more...)
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