This 100% Red Bourbon lot was produced by smallholder farmers who deliver coffee cherry to Nkara washing station, the smallest of three washing stations owned by the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative. Nkara is located close to the small town of Mususa, in the Ruli Sector of Gakenke District, in Rwanda’s mountainous Northern Province.

Nkara was established in 2005 and is the smallest of Dukunde Kawa’s washing stations, servicing about 232 of its members – about 22% of whom are women – who own small farms locally. The washing station sits at an elevation of 1,856 meters above sea level, overlooking a beautiful landscape of rolling green hills and rich, red earth. Quality control and day to day operations at Nkara are overseen by Michel Dusengimana, who has been the manager since 2007. He is one of the washing station’s three permanent staff members. During the season there are 26 staff members working at Nkara, who are mostly women, employed to sort the coffee during its drying stages.

The area surrounding Nkara has mineral-rich soil and a lush environment that is well suited to specialty coffee production. Typically, farms are very small – averaging just a quarter of a hectare – and are situated between 1,800 to 2,100 meters above sea level. Coffee is grown as a cash crop, alongside subsistence food crops like maize, beans and sorghum and some livestock like goats, chickens and cows.