In 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sustainable Harvest partnered to establish the Relationship Coffee Institute, a non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to improving the lives of rural, low-income women coffee farmers by providing training and expanding market access. One of their women-run cooperatives is located in Rwanda’s Eastern Province, in the Kayonza area, about three hours from the capital, Kigali.
Although Rwanda’s coffee harvest doesn’t begin until June, returning here after my first visit in 2015 was a remarkable experience. The landscape remains green, lush, and impeccably maintained—an exceptional environment often described as the “Switzerland of Central Africa.”
My friend, Ugandan coffee producer Kads Dison, joined me on this journey on January 5, 2019. Together, we traveled to Rwimishinya to visit the Twongere Umusaruro Kawa Cooperative and continue our shared coffee adventure.
Coffee @ Farmer 