The smallholder coffee farmers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have risked – and often given – their lives to sell their coffee.
The influx of refugees into the country which followed the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda 20 years ago had destroyed the region's infrastructure and left poverty and food shortages in its wake. With no local market, the farmers felt they had no choice but to take what coffee berries they had and attempt the perilous journey across Lake Kivu by handmade boats to trade in the now more stable Rwanda. If they survived the crossing, what they received in exchange was crushingly small, a fraction of the world market price. Many thousands drowned in the process.
Now, thanks to inspiring and dedicated work by coffee farmers in the Congo in partnership with ethical trading organisation Twin there has been an international revival of Congolese coffee, some of which proudly carries the Fairtrade Mark, is certified organic and is available in Europe and the US.
Last Saturday was World Fair Trade Day and its theme was Fair Trade People. The day celebrates everyone from producers to consumers who represent the worldwide achievement of doing business fairly.
As if to cement this theme, Twin has just received the prestigious 2014 Sustainability Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America for its work in the Congo, linking remote farmers to mainstream markets.
The DRC has long been destabilised and war-ravaged, but its rich soils, altitude and climate of its eastern highlands create ideal conditions for some of the very best Arabica coffee.
The coffee produced by the Sopacdi Co-operative is at the forefront of Twin's work in the country. Over the past six years the co-operative's membership has increased from 284 to 5,200. This figure includes 1,450 women who are beginning to leave the sidelines of their community for a more central role in the workforce. Farms have been brought back to life, the first modern coffee washing station in 40 years has been built and a new spirit of hope can be felt.
With assistance from Twin, farmers are planting new seedlings from the cooperative's own nurseries and renovating their land to combat soil erosion. They are attending workshops to learn about organic composting and mulching. They have training in business systems, coffee processing and quality control, new offices, a coffee cupping laboratory and new markets.
Sainsbury's and coffee roaster Finlays are also part of this unique collaboration – Finlays is helping with the training of the coffee cuppers – and funding has come from the Government's Department for International Development and Comic Relief. A vital part of the team are Sainsbury's customers who are voting with their trolleys and showing their admiration for 'Taste the Difference' Sopacdi Fairtrade ground coffee.
Sopacdi member Cecile Batumiki remembers: "In the past I had to bribe the police to be able to cross to Rwanda by boat to sell my coffee. I saw other boats sink because the waves were huge. Many people died leaving their children orphans and without assistance. Now, with the income from the sale of our Fairtrade coffee, we can send our children to school, feed our families and are proud to know that our coffee is being sold in the international market."
Joachim Munganga of Sopacdi is delighted and justifiably proud that his farmers were at the forefront of the relaunch of Congolese coffee internationally. "We are growing a coffee with great quality. Nobody could have thought it was possible but it is here and it is starting to address the problems of the area. Different ethnicities are working together; women are more involved."
Twin's Richard Hide agrees, "Sopacdi coffee is beyond a mere beverage. It is grown from a place once ravaged by conflict, violence and isolation; the coffee trade had been abandoned.
On my first visit I saw crowds of people hanging around with no sense of purpose," he says. "Now the spirit and zest of people has come alive in their pride at beginning the transformation of the whole region, reviving the coffee trade and producing the best speciality coffee, uniting coffee farmer and coffee drinker."
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