Rwanda - Remera Tuzumurane

Origine: Nyamagabe District, Southern Province, Rwanda
Washing Station: Remera
Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,750 - 2,100 MASL

This special microlot was produced by around 50 smallholder producers who farm coffee in the high hills surrounding Remera washing station, located in the Gaseke Sector of Nyamagabe District, in Rwanda’s Southern Province. The farmers are members of the Tuzumurane Farmer’s Group, a small association of producers who deliver coffee to Buf Coffee company, who own and manage Remera along with three other washing stations.

Most washing stations in Rwanda receive cherry from hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of farmers who own very small plots of land. Separation of such tiny lots is expensive and impractical, so the large majority of coffees are processed as a mixed lot from multiple producers. Typically, lots are separated as day lots (ie. cherries that were all picked on the same day) rather than by a single farm or producer group.

The farmers who make up the Tuzamurane group come from a nearby village called Rukamiro. Recently, they formed an association to process and market their coffees separately as a smaller, more selected lot. The group also provide each other with invaluable support, by sharing resources and labour during the busy harvest period. They named their association Tuzamurane, which roughly translates to ‘support each other towards self-resilience’ in the local Kinyarwanda language.

About Remera Washing Station

This coffee was processed at Remera washing station, which was established in 2007 and is the largest of Buf’s washing stations, servicing around 700 local coffee farmers. The washing station sits at 1,953 meters above sea level in the high, rugged mountains of Rwanda’s Southern Province. The area surrounding the washing station has mineral-rich soil and a lush environment that is well suited to specialty coffee production.