Burera lies just east of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, bordering Uganda to the North. The region is a hub of both agriculture and tourism, with the park protecting one of the world’s last remaining communities of mountain gorillas.
In 2020, Oreste Baragohoma, manager of Impexcor, a Rwandan-owned exporter and coffee processor, initiated an ambitious project to introduce coffee cultivation to vegetable farmers in the district. While coffee had not historically been widely grown in the area, farmers were motivated to diversify their farms and join Rwanda’s booming coffee trade. In 2023, the first harvest commenced and Impexcor constructed a small washing station to process this coffee. The early results are promising, and the long-term goal is to plant five million new coffee trees across the district over the next five years. To support this growing production, construction of a much larger washing station was completed in 2025. The project has expanded to include over 8,000 farmers, who have come together to form a cooperative––Cooperative Igire Muhinzi wa Kawa (CIMK), which roughly translates to “become a coffee farmer” in the Kinyarwandan language.
Our connection to this exciting project comes through our friends at Ikawa House, Laetitia Mukandahiro and Uzziel Habimana. We’ve worked with Laetitia and Uzziel in various capacities for over 15 years, making it a no-brainer for us to support them when they started an exporting business in late 2019. Ikawa House specializes in quality control and market access for both private washing stations and cooperatives across Rwanda. Beyond connecting buyers and suppliers, Laetitia and Uzziel are passionate about training the next generation of Rwandan coffee professionals on cupping, roasting, and brewing techniques during the quieter months between harvests.
Potato Taste Defect
Like many coffees from the Great Lakes region of East Africa, there is a small likelihood of experiencing Potato Taste Defect, or PTD. Though a bit unpleasant and highly aromatic, PTD affects individual beans and is safe to consume. If you would like to learn more about this defect and get tips for avoiding it in your cup, visit www.counterculturecoffee.com/PTD.
