Lake Kivu

Anchored on the Rwandan hills which stand atop the shores of Lake Kivu, overseeing the Virunga mountains of Congo, the washing station of Boneza looks like paradise on earth. A narrow footpath takes the visitor from the dock, across the plain, to the coffee washing station where dozens of coffee beds rise, well aligned, all the way up to the washing tanks. The atmosphere is serene albeit a sense of a beehive organization going-on and the people of the area can’t help but to welcome visitors with a huge smile on their faces. One feels like entering another era, and almost not wanting to leave it after sensing its magic!

This case of Boneza is very representative of Lake Kivu’s coffee production scene where washing stations are easier reached by boat than any other means of transportation. The washing stations are all built on hilly slopes, making natural use of gravity to allow water to fill-up soaking tanks and guide the freshly pulped coffee beans across the tanks until they reach the drying stage where they will be gently laid over the African beds. 

It is the successful grouping of 4 Coops and their 19'000 smallholder farmers that makes the Lake Kivu FTO Coffee Cluster which Supremo is proud to partner with.

• Full traceability to Coop level

• Multiple Certification schemes

• Women Groups

• 19'000 smallholder farmers

More info on each Coop. in the following pages