96. Coronavirus and Coffee: Interviews with Ten Coffee Farmers in Rwanda

May 6, 2020

Ejo Heza members harvesting in April 2017

Artisan Coffee Imports builds relationships with coffee farmers by listening to them. Harder than one might think, but it is truly powerful when it happens. Two weeks ago we arranged for a short survey-style interview with ten of the Ejo Heza farmers who produce Artisan's flagship imported coffee. Ejo Heza is a group of female farmers formed in 2011 with the support of their parent cooperative, Kopakama, in the Rutsiro district of Rwanda's Western Province. Over the years, the group has grown from 200 to 400 members. They have two community plots which they cultivate together, and each member also has coffee trees at home.

In nine of the ten interviews, the farmers said that labor was an issue, either paying for it, or finding it, or both. This is the main "finding" related to Coronavirus. To skim the actual farmer comments, see below.

It's important to note the context of these interviews. They were conducted:

Grace Izerwe - Quality Control Intern

• By phone by Grace Izerwe, Kopakama's Quality Control Intern, who is also a trained researcher, trained coffee cupper, roaster and barista, and holds a B.S. in Rural Development and Agribusiness from the University of Rwanda.
• During peak season, meaning the height of the harvest, when farmers are likely going to the coffee plots several times a week or daily to harvest cherry. Most likely they are using every able-bodied person in their household to help with the harvest, and hiring 'daily workers'.

Of further note:

• There tends to be a "going rate" for daily labor in rural areas of Rwanda. Today the average daily rate is 1000 Rwf per day, (around $1.10) for someone to work from about 7am to 5pm.
• The short survey was gathering feedback on two topics, the new "300 Club" started this year by Kopakama and the impact of Coronavirus on the farmers themselves. Here we will share about the coronavirus impacts and a future blog will discuss the 300 Club.
• Labor is the most important component of cost of production probably in all coffee producing countries, but even more than some in Rwanda. Labor was estimated to be 75% of total cost of production in a study with data collected in 2015. (Click here for the study by Ruth Ann Church.) Of total labor, harvesting accounts for 36% of costs. 

Take-away: don't be fooled by what may seem like low-cost labor. It is a huge part of the farmer's budget and therefore doubling it, as appears to be the case for Rwanda's farmers, is going to have a likewise dramatic impact.

Ejo Heza farmer checks the quality of a coffee tree.

(Names have been changed to maintain anonymity.)

1. Epiphanie: "The stay home period is preventing us from harvesting as usual.  Since we are respecting the distancing (1m) between workers, I hire less workers than needed." (245 trees; 9 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 4 children.)

2. Floride: "The stay home period is affecting me in ways of hiring more workers because I have to pay workers the same daily salary as if they have worked the whole day." (1800 trees; 2 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 3 children.)

3. Perpetue: "The stay home period is affecting me in harvesting because before I would use 4 workers and now I am using 2 workers because you cannot find those casual laborers to help you. People are staying at home. This means those 2 available workers spend much time in harvesting. Sometimes they do not even finish the harvest of the good cherries before the delivery time set by the buyers." (660 trees; 3 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 0 children.)

4. Clementine: "It is not easy with the distancing instructions of allowing only 2 people harvesting on 1 coffee tree at the same time." (1008 trees; 6 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 3 children.)

Ejo Heza members sort cherry at the washing
station - April 2017

5. Adele: "The challenge is that I can’t afford to protect my workers with masks or hand sanitizers." (670 trees; 9 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 6 children.)

6. Seraphine: "I used to sell banana wines in bars, but now now they are closed. So it is not easy to get money to pay workers for the harvest during this lockdown." (500 trees; 4 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 5 children.)

7. Julienne: "The distancing and use of less workers is affecting me particularly as a site collector. Due to the distancing requirement, I am not allowed to get close to the farmers to work together with them on checking the cherries which they have delivered.  This takes me more time and makes some losses when I am sorting alone with workers while farmers have already gone back home. The other challenge is the sanitary and hygiene requirements. I have to always buy hand sanitizers, soaps and water to make sure everyone arriving at the site is safe from the coronavirus." (1030 trees; 4 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 4 children.)

8. Beatrice: "As many businesses closed, we are not able to invest in harvesting because we lack money to pay workers in this period of lockdown." (315 trees; 4 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 2 children.)

9. Peruth: "This lockdown is challenging me in hiring workers. Many are staying home and the available ones cost much money for harvesting." (1500 trees; 3 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 0 children.)

Those are the comments about the labor challenge. A comment during the interview from our tenth participant references a challenge unrelated to COVID:

10. Dorthee: "It is really hard in this period of rain sometimes. You can’t harvest due to heavy rains and you have to go the following day to pick the specialty coffee." (800 trees; 3 years as a member of Ejo Heza; 2 children.)

To learn more about how Rwanda's coffee sector is faring in during the pandemic, head over to our other blog, Artisan Coffee in N. America, by clicking here.

89. Paying Farmers More - One Coop at a Time

Dec. 7, 2018

In Rwandan culture the woman is considered the heart of household and the family. The sentiment is based on the idea that once the heart is working well, everything in life is also working well. It's not surprising that many cooperatives in Rwanda have established sub-groups to support their female members. One is Ejo Heza, a sub-group of about 320 women who are also members of the larger Kopakama cooperative. With this post we'd like to share some of the details of how this kind of cooperative operates in case it's helpful for readers working elsewhere in Rwanda and the coffee world.

When combined, the factors below allow for contracts with higher prices, which means farmers can be paid more.

Customer Relationships:  relationship with Artisan Coffee Imports, a small importer, with roaster customers who are passionate about ensuring their purchase of coffee is managed ethically, especially in terms of benefiting the farmers themselves. Artisan's customers have strict standards also. Communicating customer standards and creating ways to support economic improvements for the farmers is where Artisan's forte lies. In short, relationships between farmer and roaster are fostered and grown!

Partnerships: others like TWIN, IFAD, and ICS International Service have enabled the coop to receive training and linkages that would otherwise be difficult to secure. With each partnership, long-term support is critical. IFAD returned in August 2018 to do a 10 year evaluation of the impacts of their loan.

Farmer Field Schools: Kopakama, over time, has created 12 farmer field schools (FFS) to which it's close to 800 members belong. Three agronomists and the technical director, share the work of holding a FFS lesson once a month with each group. There is a program of ten topics which the agronomists bring to the farmers, at the point in the season that is relevant. For example, pruning is taught in June or July, the time that is recommended for cutting back branches.

Annual General Meeting: Kopakama holds an annual general meeting with all the farmers of the cooperative. At this meeting key messages, policies and strategies are shared with farmer-members and the 30 site-collectors employed by the cooperative. When possible, this is also the time that premiums and dividends are distributed.

Women's Group: Kopakama's leaders agreed in 2011 to provide targeted to support to a vulnerable section of their membership and community: women. They recognized the unique challenges women face and the value that more gender equity would bring to all members. The women's group "Ejo Heza" was formed and they were given about 1 ha of land near the Mushubati washing station. They work as a 'sub-cooperative' to cultivate and harvest the coffee on this land.

86. Experts and Leaders agree: "No shortcut to Sustainability in Coffee"

July 10, 2018

I'm back from a 2 week trip to Rwanda related to coffee. This article that appeared earlier in the year in Daily Coffee News (by Roast Magazine) sums up much of what I have seen there: "There Is No Shortcut to Sustainable Coffee" The author, Jan von Enden, General Manager of the Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung North America, based in New York, states well what I often struggle to convey to well-meaning colleagues in the industry. He apparently gets asked one of these two questions frequently: “When you do a project, can I get exclusive access to the coffee?” and “Is it a SHG grade, certified and fully traceable?”

I get asked the supply side version of those 2 questions, but Mr. von Enden's good answers would be likewise applicable! I get asked, "I'm growing my coffee using all those best practices, where will I find the buyers willing to pay for it?" and "I want to grow a high-cup-score, fully-traceable coffee from a high elevation wet mill, do you know someone who will buy it at above $5.00/Kg green FOT Kigali?"

Mr. von Enden's wise answers, slightly paraphrased:
On finding buyers, “We encourage farmers to negotiate like true entrepreneurs — get out there and find more than one. If a buyer wants exclusivity, tell them it comes with a premium, so be willing to pay up…”

With regard to quality, we tell them, “It can take three to five years to develop a well-structured, sustainable and profitable supply chain that can deliver great coffee. Find investors who understand this and will take the time to get it right, and then we can figure out what to call the coffee, and what to charge for it over the long term.”

Artisan Coffee Imports is one of those companies that understands and is investing for the long term development of processes and human systems that can deliver high quality, despite the many and frequent obstacles to achieving that goal in a country like Rwanda.

85. Interview with Bette - 28 yr old Ejo Heza member

I was honored yesterday to be able to interview Bette UWIMANA, who is on the staff at KOPAKAMA cooperative and she's an officer of the women's group, Ejo Heza. CLICK HERE. (20 minutes)

Bette UWIMANA - Ejo Heza member and leader.

Interview during a visit to the Ejo Heza community plot. L to R: Uwimana, Church and Kayitare.

Listening to the interview gives you the opportunity to hear Uwimana express herself in her own voice. Here is a summary of some of her comments:

Q (Ruth): Tell us a little about yourself:
A: I am 28 years old, married with two children, 8yrs and 4 yrs old. Together with my husband we own and farm 1,650 coffee trees, plus we have other crops, like banana and I earn a salary as a staff person at Kopakama.

Q: How did you first "find" the Ejo Heza group? What made you want to join?
A: I first heard of the group in 2012 while I was working at Kopakama as a coffee receptionist. I realized there was this group, and these women were improving their lives. Meanwhile, my own farm was not productive.  Finally in 2017, I joined as a member. Now I am the Documentation Officer and Manager of Loans & Credit for Ejo Heza.

Q: What activities do you do now because you are an Ejo Heza member?
A: There is a group meeting twice a week during the season [to work together on the community plots.] For example, we do harvesting, pruning and weeding. When production is very high, we may even meet three times a week. When the season is over, the savings and credit group meets. This is very helpful for overcoming problems after the season ends [and the coffee money is gone].

Q: How much do you save in the Ejo Heza microcredit program?
A: Shares were 500 RWF ($.57) each, now they are 1000 RWF ($1.14). We meet once a month and each member saves at least 1 share, but we can put more in if we would like. At first there wasn't enough money to give big loans to members (in the first months after they started the savings group in 2014). Now we are able to give members loans of up to 200,000 RWF ($230).

Q: Have you taken out a loan? If so, what for?
A: Yes, I purchased a cow. Since I have trees in the area of Sure, where we are growing organic coffee, I wanted to buy a cow that would produce manure to help fertilize the trees.

Q: Have you been able to pay back the loan?
A: The loan comes with two installments. I've paid the first and will pay the second next year.

Q: You have coffee as one source of income. How important is coffee income to your household?
A: Coffee is important. When you calculate it, you see that it is helping. When my husband and I got the plots near Sure, we needed to move closer. We used coffee money to buy the land for the house, and then build the house.

Q: Artisan Coffee paid a premium of $.30/KG green coffee to Ejo Heza for the coffee last year and it was distributed at the general assembly. How did you feel about that and what were you able to do with that bonus?
A: I didn't receive it because I wasn't a member yet! I only became a member after the 2017 season. This year I can receive a premium.

Q: Ha! Understood. What did other members do with the bonus. Do you have some idea?
A: Yes, they buy animals depending on the amount of money they get, for example, cows, goats, chickens. Some pay for Mituel, the health insurance, others pay school fees.

71. Lean Impact Coming Clearer

18. July, 2017

KOPAKAMA is two years in to their "Lean Journey" or the "Journey to World Class" is another way I like to phrase it. They started training after the 2016 harvest was already past, so this 2017 season was the first chance they had to really use their new skills. Artisan guided the planning of two key KAIZEN projects (improvement projects) where the metrics were a bit tricky. One was to reduce "cut beans" coming from the depulper and the other was to increase the percent of well-picked cherry arriving at reception. KOPAKAMA staff implemented the third KAIZEN completely on their own. That one was to reduce water usage in the grading channels.

These KAIZENs are part of the "Real Impact" phase of the Lean training. This means that the KAIZEN projects should result in measurable impacts on the bottom line (profits). It will be a few more months before we have profit & loss statements to confirm that kind of impact, but meanwhile there are outcomes that are positive signs.

KAYITARE Gervais, Operations Manager for KOPAKAMA, shared how he felt about the results of the data collection effort to improve quality in the reception area:

"The defect graphs are helpful. They will be used especially to show to the cherry collectors the level of defects they have in their area of working hence ask them to improve in the next season. This exercise is like a tool for sensitization. Next season we plan to expand it on the second station (Nyagatare)."

Below is one example of the type of data he can now track. It shows the % of defective cherry each of his 35 collection sites delivered the last time they brought cherry to the coffee washing station. The metric is taken by the reception staff at the time the cherry is delivered. They use a small, mechanical scale. They scoop a small bowl of cherries out of one of the sacks from the collection site after it's weighed. Later, after all the farmers have gone home and the staff have time, they carefully weigh 300g of the sample. Then they sort the sample into 5 categories. One category is "well-picked", the others are various defects. The staff record these 5 numbers on with a form on a clipboard. These are collected each night and eventually Gervais enters them into a prepared spreadsheet.

70. New Dry Mill in Rubengera, Rwanda

16 June, 2017
Had the awesome opportunity to see the progress at the new dry mill being built in Rubengera, Rwanda. KOPAKAMA cooperative has been a key part of the community leadership team bringing this big project to fruition. It will employ about six technicians full time, year-round, and 30 or so "helpers" depending on volumes, and potentially 100 female "sorters" as part-time work when there is demand. In addition to bringing employment to this rural area, it also allows the seven cooperating producer organizations to improve quality via better control of the "next step" in the value chain.

David, the technician from BrazAfric, gave Frederic Hakizimana, KOPAKAMA washing station manager, Ildefonse Musafili, translator for Artisan Coffee Imports, and me the tour and said they expect to have it ready to go in 30-40 days.

65. Ejo Heza Women Improve Their Lives with Microcredit

January 25, 2017

Members of the Ejo Heza microcredit group and cooperative.

Today I had the joy and honor to revisit the leaders of the Ejo Heza women's group - a sub-group of the KOPAKAMA cooperative in the Rutsiro district of western Rwanda. [See this earlier blog post, too.] On this sunny day at their hilltop washing station overlooking stunning Lake Kivu, about 20 of the women were meeting with their microcredit savings & loan facilitator Claude.

To be a member of the microcredit group the women commit to putting their bonus money from coffee sales into their microcredit savings account. On top of that, they contribute 500 RWF (about $.60) per week. They asked me to help them get more buyers for their coffee so that they can put more money in their savings accounts. I told them I would try! There are about 125 women in the microcredit group and 280 in the women's coffee cooperative.

I asked if they would be willing, and they agreed, to share a couple of stories of how microcredit has helped them augment the income they have from coffee. The average woman in the group has 500 coffee trees.

UWIMNANA Teresa

1. UWIMANA Teresa: "I didn't have a good life before. But then with my saving and my coffee bonuses, I was able to get my first micro-loan of RWF 30,000 (~$36). I bought goods that I sold on the Kibuye-Congo Nile trail to travelers. I was able to pay back that loan, and get a new one for RWF 150,000 (~$180). With this loan I could open a small boutique shop which makes me happy. I am able to make my loan payments on time."

2.  MUKAGIRWA Vestin: "I borrowed RWF 30,000 (~$36) to buy beans [the edible kind] during the peak season for beans. I stocked these beans until the season when there are not so many in the market. Then I was able to sell my beans at a higher price. I was able to use the money to pay back the loan and to pay school fees for my children. Now I am using another loan to buy beans again."

Ideally we could gather statistics on the payback rate of this fledgling microcredit program or a study to show that it is having an overall positive impact. Without these things it is inaccurate to say the program is a huge success for the community. But certainly from these two stories and the smiles and interest I saw on the faces of the women who were there that day, it seemed that microcredit and their coffee cooperative was definitely a benefit to their lives.

A sample page from the ledger the coordinator keeps, recording each 60 cent savings deposit.

59. Lean at Origin Celebration at KOPAKAMA

July 21, 2016

Today KOPAKAMA and representatives of KOPAKAKI celebrated the completion of the Lean at Origin training "phase 1". This part of the training is called "Journey Start" because a Lean transformation is journey. A celebration is necessary after the completion of phase 1 because the first step is often the most difficult step. The decision to take a new path does not come easy to most management teams. KOPAKAMA and KOPAKAKI are both taking risks to spend the time and effort to learn Lean tools and concepts. There is no precedent in their world. No other washing stations have done this yet. They decided to embark on their "Lean Journey" having only heard the objectives and methods described.

So the event today was truly celebratory. Production manager, Gervais KAYITARE, was the master of protocol, introducing the order of events. He started it with a welcome from the President of the cooperative, Evariste TWAKIRE and an overview of the training by the washing station manager, Frederic HAKIZIMANA. A representative of the local government also welcomed the group of about 60 employees and their spouses and some children.

The attendees were divided up into four groups to tour the washing station by visiting 4 stations. At each station, a group of employees described the KAIZEN event they had planned and implemented. They shared the actions they took and the results, often pointing to new signage and new written metrics they are keeping in notebooks. The four KAIZEN groups, each with 3 - 4 employees, were:
   1. Cherry reception - sensitizing the farmers and collectors about quality
   2. Depulping area - improve safety.
   3. Washing and grading - conserve water/use more efficiently
   4. Pre-drying area - improve organization
[See photos at each station below.]

After the tour, everyone re-assembled in the storeroom-turned-auditorium, and the dancing began! This is the beautiful tradition in Rwanda, of having a professional dance/drum/singing group perform  to give thanks and share happiness at any good event. Their expressiveness through music, turning, twisting and stamping is amazing!

Besides celebrating the start of  something new, there was a second important reason for the Open House. It gave the employees a chance to be leaders and to "shine" in front of the people who mean the most to them -- their family, their co-workers and the leaders of the cooperative. It also put a spotlight on the work that they do, giving those jobs importance and meaning that may have been uncertain or at least questioned prior to the training.

There were bright smiles as the employees received their certificates. I read their names and Eric NSHYIMIMANA helped tremendously with translation and general organization. The local official (name?!) passed out the certificates and the president, Mr. TWAKIRE, and the manager, Mr. HAKIZIMANA were also in line to shake each individual's hand.

After the formal part of the festivities concluded, the participants all enjoyed a small lunch prepared by a local caterer. Then they played modern pop songs on the sound system and continued to celebrate with dance and conversation. There were a few beers consumed as well!

Participants starting the tour by walking to one of the four presentation "stops".

Josias describes the results of the KAIZEN focused on quality sensitization of farmers and collectors.

Gervais describes the safety improvements in the machine/depulping area.

Walking to the depulping area.

Isa presents the activities and results in the washing and grading area.

Andre and Betty shared the way the pre-drying KAIZEN team had formalized the organization of the equipment in that area and trained the pre-drying supervisors to implement it.