Akagera - Natural

CO-OP: Akagera

LOCATION: Akagera, Gakenke, Rwanda

ALTITUDE: 1600-1900 MASL

VARIETY: Red Bourbon

PROCESSES: Anaerobic Natural

Tasting Notes: Strawberry Yogurt, White Grape, Nutella

Baho Coffee began managing the Akagera Station at the beginning of the 2020 season. It’s located in the famed Nyamasheke District, set inbetween the beautiful Lake Kivu and Nyungwe National Forest. This is Baho’s 2nd smallest station, with 515 farmers delivering cherry for a total of around 35,000 kg of green coffee each year. Akagera is considered the sister station to Ngoma, which is just a short drive down the road; you might notice that many of the same hill or island groups will deliver to both stations.    

At the end of 2019, Akagera was being managed solely by the Kobakanya Cooperative (translated, Cooperative of Coffee Growers of Nyamasheke) - a legally registered cooperative that collectively established the washing station a few years prior. Kobakanya had unfortunately been struggling to find consistent market access and was beginning to have difficulties managing the station properly. 

The Kobkanya group approached Baho with the option to purchase the station. Already being familiar with the small size of the operation and the high quality potential of the Nyamasheke area, it was a no-brainer for Emmanuel to jump on the opportunity. The Kobakanya Cooperative is still active, and their group of dedicated outgrowers now have established security in guaranteed high prices for cherry and access to the specialty market through Baho Coffee.  Emmanuel works in partnership with Kobakanya, helping them remain organized and providing additional tools to grow in the future.
As is standard practice for Baho-owned stations - training, inputs, and substantial contributions towards health insurance premiums are provided for all farmers delivering. Each station has an agronomist on site that organizes training sessions focused on topics such as coffee plant care (fertilizing, pruning, harvesting, etc), importance of our traceability efforts, and environmental protection. Various inputs like fertilizers and new coffee seedlings are provided free of cost to all farmers. Baho is involved a step further here as well - helping farmers with transportation to gather materials and lending equipment or tools when necessary.