Rwanda Gitega Hills Washed

Gitega Hills washing station sits in Rwanda’s Southern Province, Nyamagabe District, just miles from Nyungwe Forest and the traced source of the Nile River. The Nyungwe Mountains lie near one of the oldest rainforests in Africa and the areas where the coffee trees are grown have sandy and volcanic soils at high altitudes with cool climates, which is ideal for coffee maturation.

The average local farm supplying to Gitega is at an altitude around 1650m, making it an excellent location for high quality processing. One strategic area of collection is called Miko, which is made up of approximately 165 coffee farming families. The Miko farms sit between 1700-1900m and they have been consistent with strong yield and higher than average cup quality scores.

Following the pulping of freshly delivered cherry, the coffee is wet fermented and then the beans are sorted by density using water filled grading channels. The wet parchment is dried under cover for 24 hours before being moved to uncovered drying beds for an average of 15 days. During that period the coffee is continually hand sorted by an army of brightly clothed women, who are meticulous in their removal of defect beans.

Bernard Uwitije was born into a coffee producing family and since he was young, he has cared for coffee farms, helping his parents pick and process cherries at their home. His father used to collect coffees processed at homes throughout their village and sell them for a small profit at the nearby town, Kigali. This was a business Bernard took over as he grew up and as his father became ill, but it was also a source of inspiration for him. He says, “It is very exhausting labor to process coffee at homes; this is where I got the aspirations to alleviate the burden to farmers by building coffee
processing factories.” In 2012, Bernard began his own coffee business dealing with coffee brokerage, and in 2016 he acquired his first of three washing stations.

Bernard recognizes the needs for those in his community and so he puts effort towards improving those areas through his business, Trapro. He delegates 10% of gross profits towards projects like health insurance schemes, agriculture, training and farming schools, small loans and children’s school fees. They provide coffee seedlings and monthly training to farmers to help improve their yields and their quality. They work with all farmers through the community but puts focus towards women, those who are disadvantaged, and the youth who were unable to complete their higher education.

The washing stations managed by Bernard and Trapro Coffee boasts ecologically friendly pulpers and modern equipment as well as accommodation for key staff members. His investments, along with strong oversight, have yielded a very high quality product in his first years of operation.