Rogers Coffees Rwanda Journal

“Munzungo, Munzungo,” they screamed as we slugged through some of the toughest roads in Rwanda. The children ran easily alongside the car, our pace on the narrow path slowed by huge potholes and mats of coffee beans drying in the sun. Small villages of no more than eight houses sprang up from the ground as we wound up and down the hills at the clip of a brisk walk. We’d stop and the children would gather around the car. I’d wave and they would wave back shaking their entire hand and arm in sweeping gestures. They would break into smiles that covered their faces, the white of their teeth glowing in contrast to their dark skin. I’d smile back and they would slowly approach, reaching out toward my arm resting on the passenger’s side window. With awe they would touch my skin and yell, “Munzungo Munzungo,” and jump back from the car. I’d laugh and rub their bald heads and we would pull away with a flock of kids behind the car.

These are the mountains of Rwanda where life is simple, happy, and most of the mountain children have never seen someone like me — a Munzungo.

Known as the country of 1,000 mountains — a sharp distinction from the dry, flat savannahs that characterize other parts of Africa — Rwanda is more famous for its genocide than it’s rolling terrain. However, coffee farms are helping to transform Rwanda’s identity.

All of Africa died a bit that June day in 1994 when the ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi’s came to a boil. The plaques and history of the genocide are hard to miss. Memorials are placed along roads with signs reading, “Genocide Never Again.” Mass graves mark memorials and meeting places for families to remember family members lost. Even after two trips to the region in the last six months, it’s hard to sum up in words this sadness in Rwanda’s history. I visited museums, memorials and read every book I could stomach, but the words of a coffee consultant, John, from Kenya, summed it up best for me. John came over from Kenya to help the coffee farmers of Rwanda improve their quality. He was with a group of men who were to live in Rwanda for the 4-month crop. We met one evening for beers, which led to dinner and a friendship. “Peter,” he said, “before we start we need to bow our heads because the best minds of Africa are not here at this table. They were destroyed in the genocide. We are here to help our brothers, to heal our brothers from Africa. You see, Rwanda is now like a small child. We have to patiently teach it and hold it until one day it can be on it’s own again.”

I thought of Kevin, an 11-year-old boy who watched his family killed before his eyes, and of a girl speaking of life before the genocide who said, ” When I was with my family I was happy, now my family is all gone.”

How do the children of Rwanda, the future, ever rebuild or more importantly, trust another human again? How can people pick up the pieces of their country, of their lives, and rebuild?

The building of Rwanda started immediately following the genocide and continues today. Rwanda is full of very proud and hardworking people. The streets are clean with no trash; the houses well-kept and the paved roads well-maintained. People dress well, cars are maintained and everyone is extremely open, helpful and friendly. I saw no guns and felt very safe during my recent visit. I heard if you dropped your wallet it would be returned to the nearest post office, minus a few Francs.

Small family farms, the backbone of Rwanda, cover every inch of its countryside. It’s not uncommon to see 150 coffee trees with banana trees and coffee beans growing in the same plot. Farmers farm their land with anything they think will grow and grow it does. Our coffee company buy a half-million pounds of coffee from almost 1,000 Rwandan coffee farmers this year.

As impressed as I was with the cleanliness, safety and hard work ethic of the people of Rwanda, I was most impressed with the women. The women of Rwanda have ascended to positions of power. They run farming Co-ops, and hold business and government positions. Many of them are genocide survivors and are changing the way coffee is produced in Rwanda.

The coffee of Rwanda has improved much in the last 12 years. What was once a country of poor-quality coffee destined for the instant can has been transformed into one of the best-growing coffee regions in Africa. Old-style Bourbon trees dominate the farms, which stand at altitudes of 1,400-to-2,000 meters.

As other countries are replacing their old-style trees with newer high-yielding but lower-quality varieties that don’t taste as good, Rwanda has continued to support the traditional style of farming albeit with a few modern-day improvements that produces quality, rich-tasting coffee. Rwandan coffee beans are fully washed and then sun-dried. Rwandans hand-sort any defective beans on the drying patios and then, in the milling areas, the coffee is meticulously picked over to ensure zero defects reach the roasters. Hand pulping machines to pulp coffee have been replaced with more modern washing stations. Washing stations send agronomists to the field to teach the farmer about quality. Learning and improving are at the forefront of their thoughts. Throughout the trip, I found extremely beautiful cups of coffee with chocolate tones, floral notes, sweet sugars and well-balanced sharpness.

With the altitude, soil and desire to improve, Rwanda could easily produce some of the finest coffees in the world. And in exchange, Rogers Family Company is committed to helping Rwandans improve their communities socially and environmentally.

But the memories of the genocide are never long from minds of the people of Rwanda. Sure it would be easy for the country to sit back and wait for foreign aid and advice but they haven’t waited. They have picked up the pieces, rebuilt their lives and country and now have earned a reputation for creating one great cup of coffee.

By: Rogers Estate Coffees

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