Name: Gasharu CWS
Location: Macuba Sector, Nyamasheke district, Western Province
Foundation year: 2014
Manager: Valentin Kimenyi
Number of farmers: 1650
Production: Up to 8 containers
Processing methods: Natural, Washed, Honey and Anaerobic experiments
Altitude of the farms: 1600 - 2100 masl
Altitude of the CWS: 1670 masl
Average yearly rainfall: 1300-1400 mm
Soil: Acidic Soil
Projects: Support farmers in organizing as cooperatives and train them in governance and finances so that they can have savings for the future
Cup profile: Fruits (plum, berries, green apple), chocolate, black tea, herbal, high sweetness, medium acidity, smooth
[Selective picking at Nyamasheke]
About Gasharu CWS: Gasharu washing station is located near the Rwanda Congo Nile Mountain Chain. Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the largest montane and most preserved montane rainforests in Central Africa, home to huge biodiversity, and an estimated 25% of Africa’s primates. This region’s elevation, soil, and climate are what coffee trees love best. No surprise then that some fantastic coffees come from our land, known for their round, complex profile packed with citrus and other fruits.
The farms we work with are mainly older farms. The average age of trees is 20 years. We have a nursery to supply the coffee plants to our farmers and to create new farms. Our farmers prune the trees each year and they do stumping after 7 years. They fertilize the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and organic compost.
Process: The coffee cherries collected at Gasharu washing station are grown at altitudes ranging from between 1700 and 2100 masl. Once collected, the cherries are floated by water in the floating tanks before passing through a Mckinnon disc pulper and then transferred to fermentation tanks where they undergo 14 hours of dry fermentation. After this, the coffee is then sorted in density grading channels by enough clean water where we do separate coffees by three qualities:
1. Grade A (dense coffee which is of high quality)
2. Grade B (less dense coffee which is of medium quality )
3. Grade C (lower quality)
Those different qualities are moved separately to be sorted again at the pre-drying tables and then transferred to raised African beds to dry for 16 to 20 days. When dried, these coffees are well kept and wait for time to be hulled and being sorted by experienced women before being packed in Grainpro and Jute bags for export.
This lot is composed of Grade A only.
We avoid the feared potato defect by tirelessly sorting and floating the cherries after receiving them at the washing station and later the beans on the raised beds.
“I watched my parents count kilos of cherries all my life. In my head, money always had an association with the weight of coffee. Knowing that my parents could do that business and at the same time help people with school fees for their kids or to pay their healthcare bills was what motivated me to pursue a career in agriculture and business”
[Me, Valentin Kimenyi]
