BURUNDI Kibingo Kayanza Washed

Processing: Washed | SCA Score: 86.5 points

Flavor Profile: fruity, with notes of berries, stone fruit, peach, black tea, cocoa, and honey sweetness.

The Kibingo Washing Station is located in Kayanza Commune in northern Burundi. The station itself sits at an altitude of 1,893 meters above sea level, while the farms on the surrounding hills that supply the station range from approximately 1,700 to 1,900 meters above sea level.

Kibingo serves 3,515 registered coffee farmers spread across 18 hills in the surrounding area. All producers registered with a Greenco washing station are organized into groups of approximately 30 farmers, each led by a Farmer Leader. This leader acts as a spokesperson, facilitating communication and coordination between the farmers and the washing station.

The washing station is equipped with 10 fermentation tanks, 2 soaking tanks, and a drying field with 4 pre-drying tables and 165 drying tables. Kibingo has the capacity to process up to 750,000 kg of coffee cherries per day.

At the washing station, farmers can obtain organic fertilizer made from composted coffee pulp. To encourage farm renovation, producers can also purchase subsidized coffee seedlings at reduced prices from the washing station. Each station operates its own nursery for this purpose.

The washing station participates in a range of farmer-support and awareness projects, including a livestock project and several Farmer Hub initiatives focused on strengthening cooperatives and improving farm yields.

Cultivation

The majority of coffee trees in Burundi are Red Bourbon. Due to the increasingly small size of coffee farms, aging coffee trees are a major challenge in Burundi.

Many farmers have trees that are more than 50 years old, but because their plots are small, it can be difficult to justify removing productive trees entirely for the three to four years required for newly planted trees to begin producing.

To encourage farmers to renovate their coffee plantations, Greenco purchases seeds from the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), establishes nurseries, and sells seedlings to farmers at or below cost.

Despite the widespread cultivation of coffee throughout Burundi, each smallholder typically produces a relatively modest harvest. The average smallholder has approximately 250 coffee trees, usually growing around their homes.

Each tree produces an average of 1.5 kg of coffee cherries, meaning that the average producer sells approximately 200 to 300 kg of coffee cherries per year.