How have poorly educated coffee farmers who have grown up literally fighting for their very survival in a savagely war-torn African nation go on to win one of the coffee industry’s most coveted prizes for quality and perfection? How have producers of one of the world’s most basic commodities in a landlocked and geographically isolated developing nation emerged from the ashes of civil war to penetrate western European markets and establish a solid market share of loyal customers?
The answer can be found in one word that is not entirely unknown to Rwandans – Revolution.
But this time, it’s changed for good! At least, this is what the radical team of entrepreneurs at Kaffee Kooperative will tell you. This is where Allan Mubiru and Xaver Kitzinger have teamed up with Angelique Karekezi of the Musasa Dukundekawa Coffee Cooperative. Together they bring coffee cherries from 2,000 meters above sea level in the Rwandan hills of Rushashi all the way to coffee machines in Germany, completing every value-adding step themselves of processing, roasting, packaging, and selling the coffee so that 100% of the money ends up where it belongs – with the coffee farmers.
The FairChain Foundation was established to respect and promote this revolutionary spirit of radical fairness in the face of oppression and against all odds. For this reason, Kaffee Kooperative is our FairChain Revolutionary of the Month!
