Ruanda Nyamasheke
Washing Station
The founder of the washing station was Louis Ndereyimana who started in the world of coffee as a coffee farmer with a plantation of 500 coffee trees. His dedication to coffee cultivation led him to establish two operational washing stations in different locations in Rwanda to process the cherries of coffee growers in the area who do not have the infrastructure to do so.
The company itself was founded in 1999 with the idea of supplying parchment coffee to local companies and it was not until 2017 when he decided together with his family to open the two washing stations. After obtaining the necessary licenses, he established two washing stations: “Nyamasheke Hills Coffee” in the Western Province of Rwanda, Nyamasheke District, Kanjongo Sector, and “Birambo CWS” in the Western Province, Karongi District, Gashali Sector.
Currently, they produce approximately four containers (equivalent to 19,200kg each) of specialty coffees.
Process Method
Farmers bring ripe cherries to Nyamasheke Station for processing. Once there, staff at the washing station remove the lower quality cherries by flotation. The remaining cherry is then visually inspected for visual defects by specially trained staff. The cherry is then pulped using a disc pulper before being placed in fermentation tanks to dry ferment for 12 to 18 hours.
When fermentation is complete, the wet parchment is washed with clean water and laid out in thin layers on tables to dry. Here, it is regularly sifted to ensure even drying. The parchment will be covered during the hottest hours of the day and night to prevent condensation.
Introduced in 1904 by German missionaries, coffee in Rwanda has an important history. There, the climate, altitude and the pre-eminence of the Bourbon variety give it unequalled qualities in cup.
At the beginning of the 90s coffee was its most lucrative product of export: about 45 thousand tons left the country and gave sustenance to many small farmers. In 1994, tremendous genocide killed the lives of nearly a million people and destroyed Rwanda’s economy by eliminating much of the specialized knowledge needed to grow and export successfully.
Today, the country produces less than half the coffee it exported in 1990. However, despite the tragic events that have shaken its recent history, Rwanda retains its enormous potential in the coffee sector.
In order to rebuild agricultural institutions, production capacity and human capital, the PEARL (The Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages) was designed in 2000. Thus, small coffee growers can sell directly to expert buyers receiving high prices for their exceptional product.
Today approximately 420,000 people are directly or indirectly related to the coffee industry. The prices of quality coffee are more stable than the prices of commercial coffee, which has improved the quality of life of many coffee growers and their families. In addition, coffee also contributes to the reconciliation of the main ethnic groups: Hutus and Tutsis; since we have seen them working together, shoulder to shoulder, to produce more and better coffee.
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