When Counter Culture first visited Rwanda, we heard the story of Epiphanie Mukashyaka. A Rwandan Genocide widow, Epiphanie visited offices of the Partnership to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL) to ask how she could build a coffee washing station. In 2003, with the help of PEARL, Epiphanie built her first washing station, called Nyarusiza, under her business, Bufcoffee. A few years later, Bufcoffee built their second washing station, Remera. Remera washing station is one of the highest in the district, sitting at 1,950 meters above sea level. Most farmers in this area have tiny farms with a few hundred coffee trees. They grow coffee and tea as cash crops.
While Bufcoffee is not a cooperative, the organization works collaboratively with thousands of producers who deliver coffee cherries for processing. Bufcoffee goes beyond paying fairly—they reward producers by paying more than market price while offering other incentives to ensure strong partnerships. Today, Epiphanie's children manage the Bufcoffee washing stations and dry mill, where they work constantly to improve their coffee quality.
