Kii Kenya

With nearly 700,000 coffee producers, roughly 70% of which are smallholder producers, Kenya shines as aunique coffee-producing country in East Africa. This AB lot was collectively grown by smallholder producers belonging to the Rung’eto Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS). Established in 1976, the FCS currently represents roughly 1,300 small scale farmers, all with coffee plots of under 0.5 hectares on average. Farmers in this region first planted coffee in 1953, and since then, coffee has become a primary cash crop in the area. The Kii Factory is one of three wet mills owned and operated by the Rung’eto FCS and was constructed in 1995. Producers will deliver their coffee to the factory closest to their home. These farms overlook the famous elephant migration route that connects Aberdare and Mt. Kenya Forest. Along with elephants, there are many other wild animals such as buffaloes, antelopes and monkeys in the area. These, as well as many others, often find their way onto the farms to graze on the grassland or chew on the sweet coffee cherries. The FCS is managed by a democratically elected board of 7 members, each of whom serve as a representative of a particular catchment area. Additionally, the FCS provides employment for 25 permanent members of staff, headed by the Secretary Manager, who oversees the day-to-day running of the FCS under the board’s supervision. The producers, despite their small size, pay stringent attention to cultivation methods and regularly apply compost and farmyard manure to ensure soil fertility. Inorganic fertilisers are applied less frequently, though are often necessary throughout the year. Farmers selectively handpick the ripest cherries, which are then delivered to the Factory on the same day. All farms delivering to the Factory are located within a 3-mile radius and deliver to the mill via a variety of methods – including motorbike, wheelbarrow and bicycle. Cherries are hand sorted prior to pulping, with damaged and under ripe cherries being separated out from the red, ripe lots, and are further defined into lots according to quality. The cherries are then pulped to remove the external fruit and then fermented in water for 16 – 24 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is washed in clean, fresh water from the local Kii River to remove all traces of mucilage before being delivered through sorting channels to dry on raised beds.While it is drying, parchment coffee is sorted again to remove any discoloured or damaged beans. Whe