Rwanda- Mwito

Rwanda- Mwito

Roast: Medium Light Roast

Process: Natural

Tasting Notes: Grape, Jolly Rancher, Blueberry, Aloe

Varieties: Red Bourbon

Elevation: 1347 Meters above sea level

Harvested: April to June

The Mwito Washing Station sits on the shores of Lake Kivu in West Nyamasheke. Mwito washing station was constructed in 2008, but for many years there was no stability due to a lack of financing. For all those years, farmers lacked a consistent partner who would support them beyond buying coffee cherries. RTC ( Rwanda Trading Company) purchased Mwito in 2017 and operated it for the first time in the 2018 season. One year after, all farmers had been registered to enroll in RTC’s farmer impact programs for extension services and preparation for certification. In 2019 RTC built a kindergarten school for the coffee farmers’ children.

Rwanda Trading Company was established in 2009 as a vehicle for positive social impact. This group has displayed a consistent commitment to securing economic freedom and security for smallholder farmers by building resilient, transparent supply chains. RTC processes and exports 25 percent of Rwanda’s annual coffee production. 

The group owns and operates sixteen wet mills and works directly with farmers throughout Rwanda – buying, milling, processing and marketing their coffees – while investing in producing communities through agribusiness training programs. Since 2013, these programs, which focus on cultivation innovation and reducing costs of production, have resulted in an 86 percent increase in farm revenue for RTC's producer-partners. It’s a highly collaborative effort, which fuels sustainable economic stability from the ground up.