Christine Condo, the East Africa Regional Director for SH-R expressed “It’s of great pride for Rwanda to be the first African country to host this training. We are delighted to enable NAEB [National Agricultural Export Development Board] staff as well as other trainees to receive a certificate that will permit them to transfer this knowledge to others in the coffee sector.”
Much of the coffee-growing world is limited by a lack of knowledge of coffee processing methods, which is often left to experimentation. For many producers, knowing how to process, taste, and produce quality coffee can make the difference between receiving a fair price or one below market.
CQI provides the only program that certifies competencies around coffee processing. It seeks not only to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of people who produce it, but also to standardize procedures, increase competitiveness, and reduce risks.
Since its initial launch in 2017, the Q Processing Program has been changing the way coffee is processed around the world, offering three distinct levels (Generalist, Professional and Expert) to empower the consuming side of the coffee value chain to safely and consistently process quality coffee.
Yimara Martinez, the first woman to be certified as a CQI Q Processing instructor, led the first generalist course at the Starbucks lab in Kigali. She shared “I am very proud to be in Rwanda. Being the daughter of Colombian coffee growers, I never imagined to have the opportunity to travel and share knowledge with people from other continents, wonderful people, who make the same effort and have the same love and dedication to produce coffee and improve coffee quality in the world.”
By the end of the three-day course, the participants will understand the differences among processing methods based on the anatomy of the coffee cherry as well as comprehend the subtlety and complexity of coffee processing as one of the main factors affecting coffee flavor.
Imanishimwe Gisele a participant and representative from the Abakunda kawa ya Rushashi cooperative in Gakenke district stated “as a coffee farmer, the quality of coffee translates to money because if the coffee is of poor quality, it attracts a low price or sometimes may fail to get a buyer at all. That being said, if you control the quality of coffee, in the end it will taste and smell good and in turn attract a good price on the international market. Professional farming is done with a goal to generate income and be profitable.”
According to Condo, “After this training, coffee processors will have acquired new skills that enable them to improve the quality of their coffee hence increasing the price and making Rwandan coffee more popular and appreciated on the market.”
Sustainable Harvest Rwanda started operations in Rwanda in 2018, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with an aim of empowering women coffee farmers and their families by training them on coffee farming professionalism and help them network with coffee buyers.
Sustainable Harvest Rwanda now partners with 75 coffee farmers cooperatives from 13 Districts and has trained more than 30,000 women since it started its operations in Rwanda.
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