Introduction of coffee from Kibingo treatment station in Burundi AA Cayanza Water washing bourbon Flavor

Country: Burundi

Province: Kayanza

Nearest town: Kinga

Cleaning station: Kibingo

Height of cleaning station: 1839 m

Coffee growth height: 1600-1900 m

Variety: bourbon

Processing method: washing

Description

The Kibingo central cleaning station is located in the town of Kayanza in northern Burundi. The station itself is located 1893 meters above sea level. The height of the farm in the adjacent hill where the cleaning station is supplied varies between 1700 and 1900 meters above sea level. Kibingo serves 3553 registered coffee growers on 18 hills in the region. In 2016, all these producers owned a total of 1010062 coffee trees! Each producer has an average of 284 trees.

The cleaning station is equipped with 10 fermenters, 2 soaking tanks and a drying field with 165 drying tables and 4 pre-drying tables. Kibingo can process 750000 kilograms of cherries every day.

After picking the cherries, the picking team classifies the cherries according to their maturity. This is essential for fine processing to reduce damaged coffee beans. The cherry peel was mechanically removed during the pulping process. Next, the sticky parchment will be fermented and dried for 12 hours. After the fermentation is completed, the parchment follows the washing and grading channel. Finally, the best coffee will be soaked for another 24 hours to remove any remaining mucus before entering the pre-drying table. Here, the second picking team examines the wet parchment to remove the defective beans. A few hours later, the parchment was moved to the drying table. Depending on the weather, the moisture content will reach 12% in about two weeks.

Kibingo CWS has 3553 registered peasant members, distributed in 18 Colin or hills in Kayanza province. All producers registered at the cleaning station are made up of 30 people and are led by a farmer. The person in charge acts as a spokesman to promote communication and organization with the cleaning station.

In Burundi, wet mills can cover farmers within 3 kilometers. If the cleaning station is too far away, the manufacturer will sell it to the middleman, usually at a disadvantage. To prevent this, Kibingo and other washing stations have collection centres that allow them to reach farmers as far as 9 kilometers from the wet mill. This is a huge benefit for producers, who no longer have to carry large amounts of cherries. At the same time, a shorter distance also helps to maintain the quality of coffee.

At the washing station, farmers can get organic fertilizer from the converted coffee pulp. In order to promote the renovation of the farm, producers can get low-cost subsidized coffee saplings at the washing station. To this end, each station has its own nursery.

Kayanza is one of the best reputations of coffee growers in Burundi. The coffee farm is located in the highlands, where the soil is rich and volcanic. But the best growth conditions are not enough to produce high-quality coffee. In order to get the best coffee, a skilled and dedicated cleaning station manager is essential. They oversee good economic practices and the implementation of farmer education and work with producers to ensure that they have access to the necessary tools. They also help farmers identify and implement practices that best suit the specific growth conditions of their plantations.

In addition to improving quality and productivity, Greenco, the company that manages the cleaning station, strives to improve the socio-economic and environmental conditions around the cleaning station. All of their cleaning stations are UTZ and 4C certified. One of their priorities is to build an effective supply chain around CWS. Greenco bought 93% of the cherries directly from farmers through the collection center. In this way, they raised the price of farmers to producers.

Another socio-economic challenge addressed by Greenko is the high level of youth unemployment in Burundi. The national youth unemployment rate is close to 50%. At Greensco, young graduates can receive handsome salaries and benefits (housing, motorcycles, health care) as well as practical career prospects.

In addition to practical training in agriculture, G ​​ reenco organizes a variety of social training for farmers' groups. Coffee families also know about gender equality, financial planning, family planning, breastfeeding and many other things.

On the environmental front, Greenco is equipped with water treatment facilities, solar panels and batteries for all cleaning stations. Solar panels provide power for computers, lighting and smartphones.

In the cup test, it can be expected that the lime-flavored nectar sweetened with black sugar will give off the fragrance of jasmine when it begins to cool. Finally, there is dark chocolate and blackcurrant, and you will have a really delicious cup of coffee.