Description
Baho
Baho Coffee, a company that operates ten washing stations in Rwanda and two more in Burundi, works with more than a thousand partners, including farmers and coffee growers. From its locations in the country's main coffee-growing regions, Baho Coffee sells high-quality coffee to customers around the world. But its work doesn't stop there: it also collaborates with farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, teaching them best practices for processing coffee and obtaining a superior product. With its dedication to the art of growing and processing coffee, Baho Coffee helps keep the tradition alive and ensure a sustainable future for small farmers in the region.
Rusatira Emmanuel
Rusatira Emmanuel, founder of Baho Coffee, is a man with a passion for coffee and a vision to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Rwanda. His education in agricultural engineering, rural development, and agribusiness gave him the tools to understand the intricacies of coffee farming and processing. After graduating, he worked for twelve years at a multinational coffee exporter with operations around the world. But his heart was in Rwanda, where he had seen firsthand the injustice suffered by smallholder farmers who produce some of the most delicious coffee in the world. So in 2017, he decided to found Baho Coffee, with the goal of empowering these farmers and offering a platform for them to sell their high-quality coffee to customers around the world. With his dedication and vision, Rusatira Emmanuel is helping to transform the coffee industry in Rwanda and build a more just and sustainable future for its farmers.
Since Emmanuel began his career in the coffee industry in 2005, he has been dedicated to improving the lives of smallholder farmers in Rwanda. After graduating from university, he took a job at a large coffee export company, where he started as a washing station manager and rose to head of organic certification and sustainability. In charge of 37 washing stations (15 of his own and 22 partnered), Emmanuel realized there was a gap between what he could do in the company and what he truly wanted to achieve. With his family and relatives dedicated to coffee production, Emmanuel understood the farmers' pain and set out to change their lives and make them happy. This is how the idea of founding Baho Coffee was born.
The word "baho" has a special meaning in Kinyarwanda, one of Rwanda's official languages. In this language, "baho" means "stay strong" and "never give up," a philosophy Emmanuel has held close to his heart since childhood. The choice of his company name, Baho Coffee, is closely tied to his past, one in which he emerged victorious from the depths of despair.
The producers
Baho, a company dedicated to agriculture, cares for the associated farmers who work daily to cultivate their land. To facilitate the management of its producers, Baho has organized them into small groups and appointed a leader in each. The leaders are tasked with identifying the problems faced by the farmers in their group and reporting them to the agricultural engineers, with the goal of improving the overall quality of production.
But Baho doesn't stop there. The company also has a program to support farmers' livelihoods, which includes financial assistance when farmers need tuition, medical insurance, or operating funds before harvest. With this program, Baho demonstrates its commitment to farmers and its determination to work together to find solutions to the problems they face.
At Baho, we want our farmers to feel like part of our family. That's why, every time someone buys one of their products, we give them an incentive, as if we were giving them a gift. We believe their work is valuable, and we want them to feel appreciated and rewarded for their dedication.
Rwanda is a country with a long coffee tradition. There, more than half a million small coffee farmers produce excellent coffee, but for a long time, its price remained low due to a lack of recognition in the international market. This caused great poverty among the country's farmers.
But that has changed. When we sell Rwandan coffee, we're not just selling a product, we're selling an entire country. The market share of specialty coffee in Rwanda has increased to 50%TP3T, compared to 10%TP3T a few years ago. More and more people are recognizing the high quality of Rwandan coffee, which has contributed to improving the situation of the country's farmers.
Process
When harvest time arrives, farmers and pickers work hard to collect the ripe coffee. Once picked, the coffee is transported to the wet mill within three hours, where it undergoes a sorting and flotation process to separate the cherries from the pulp. The cherries are then pulped the same day.
To ensure proper fermentation, a 24-hour dry process is used. During this time, the coffee undergoes a maturation process that gives it its characteristic flavor and aroma. At the end of the process, the coffee is ready to be packaged and shipped to customers around the world.
