Standing alone as one is not as powerful as standing united as a group. I’m so very passionate about my women coffee growers that are a part of the ‘Cafe Femenino Foundation’ that I want to share their story with you. This is a great story of how women made a conscious decision to make ‘poverty’ their enemy and create an alliance that will advance them all. Because of you, my customers, they are a success story not a tragedy. Know that when you purchase coffee from MoJo Roast, you are not only getting an exceptional cup of coffee, but you are directly helping so many; for that I thank you.
Cheers,
Jo
CAFÉ FEMENINO RWANDA
The Abakunda Kawa Rushashi coffee cooperative, located in the northern mountainous
region of the district of Gakenke is situated at an altitude of 1700-1900 meters and
encompasses five distinct zones.
The coffee cooperative was formed in 2004 and due to a strong women’s movement there
and became the first Café Femenino Program on the continent of Africa in 2008.
Abakunda Kawa is a second level co-op, (a co-op of smaller remote coffee producing
co-ops) with women led groups in many different areas. The two sub-cooperatives that
are active producers in the Café Femenino Program are Hinga Kawa, and Dakunda Kawa.
The Hinga Kawa women’s association became the first to begin a Café Femenino
Program, but both groups produced the coffee for the most recent harvest.
The women of Hinga Kawa have witnessed the darkest period of Rwandan history with
the Genocide in 1994. Since this group includes both Hutu and Tutsi’s, the women
made a decision to make poverty their mutual enemy rather than each other; and with
this sentiment, they have been able to move forward and heal their community through
their leadership.
After the coffee farms in Rwanda were left fallow for a time, several organizations
assisted the farmers to be able to produce coffee once again.