BURUNDI COFFEE ALLIANCE
Paying a good price to our farmers for their cherries is not enough. We value the relationships and trust we have built with our farmers, which is why we have partnered with the Kahawatu Foundation in the “Burundi Coffee Alliance” program, which we co-fund with USAID and other private actors. Together with Kahawatu, our team of two agronomists per CWS (26 agronomists in total) train farmers on best agricultural practices and empower them to become better business men and women through education, credit & saving programs and continued support. More info here.
coffee farming communities
It is part of our mission to support the needs of our farmers and their families, which is why we have partnered with the 13 local primary schools that many of our farmers' children attend. We want to have an impact on the future generations in Burundi, which is why we have chosen to invest in their children's education.
Youth Unemployment
One of the socio-economic challenges we aim to address is youth unemployment, which is higher than 50% in rural Burundi. We give job opportunities to young graduates and train them within the highest standard of work ethics. They all work with computer systems and smartphones, which simplifies the flow of information. These graduates have a fresh and systematic approach to coffee production and processing, with up to date knowledge about farming practices, and represent the future of the country.
GOAT & PIG PROJECT
Livestock is a crucial part of farming in Burundi and forms an additional source of revenue for many who rely on agriculture for an income. In 2017, we started our “Goat & Pig Project” at Nemba station with the distribution of goats to farming group who directly work with the CWS. Since then, thanks to the incredible support of many of our clients, we have expanded this project to several stations. In 2019, in a single day, we distributed 156 goats and 83 pigs and we made history in Burundi. The project responds to the needs of our farmers to obtain organic fertilizer for their plantations in order to increase the yield of their coffee production, and we also to train these farmers to breed, manage and distribute the livestock so as to benefit the farming community as a whole in the long term.
health insurance
For farmers who are unable to afford a health insurance policy for themselves and their families, Greenco, together with the support of our clients, has launched a program to provide a health insurance plan for farmers and their family members in selected geographical areas. This program started in 2017 at Yandaro CWS, and we aim to expand it to the remaining stations.
collection sites
At Greenco we know that even small distances can be time consuming and expensive to travel for smallholder farmers, and we also know that receiving cherry immediately after harvest is crucial to quality. Therefore, smallholders can bring their cherries either directly to our CWS´s or to one of our 10-15 collection sites that we strategically place around each CWS. Farmers are paid the same for their cherry regardless of where they bring their cherries. In this way, farmers are not disadvantaged due to their location, and they do not have to bear the time and cost of transport to CWS’s. Since its implementation, this innovative system has been a great success and has crossed our borders.
farmer hub
In 2020, we launch what will be our next big project in the years to come: the “Farmer hub”. The objective of this project is to convert our CWS into retail shops with basic goods for our farmers, which will be marketed at a reduced price and can be paid on credit with the cherry brought to the CWS. Good for everyone! We are still piloting the project, stay tuned to know more.