Rwanda Kungahara Carbonic Maceration

This special process coffee was grown by women producers in the Rutsiro District of the Western Province of Rwanda. Their small family farms are scattered in the Virunga Mountains along the shores of Lake Kivu. Known as the "land of a thousand hills", Rwanda boasts ancient volcanic mountains and a lush tropical climate.

Part of the larger Bwishaza cooperative, this group of over 200 women farmers is called "Kungahara" which means "be rich" in the local language, Kinyarwanda. Most of the members are young and energetic, like the group's president Angelique Tuyisenge, and open to new and innovative ideas. Bwishaza, in partnership with the non-profit Beautiful Coffee, provides funding for infrastructure and training in quality, new processes, and marketing.

A typical female Rwandan coffee farmer spends her morning working in the field and her afternoon at the market or at home, cooking and taking care of her family. Coffee is an extremely important industry for all of Rwandans, particularly women. The 1994 genocide left the population predominantly female and today, around 14% of coffee farmers in Rwanda are women.

Farmers carefully pick their ripe coffee cherries by hand and deliver them to the Bwishaza washing station. They are meticulously sorted and the selected cherries are placed in sealed containers. These containers create a low oxygen, high carbon dioxide environment. The coffee is allowed to ferment for a number of days before being being moved to raised beds to dry in the sun.