Counter Culture began looking for potential partnerships in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2013, with those first few years producing mixed results. Finding the right combination of quality, logistical coordination, sustainability goals, and motivated producing partners can be difficult in any supply chain. In the DRC, this task has been daunting. After tasting promising samples from the Muungano cooperative over the preceding years, we decided to focus on this group beginning with the 2017 harvest. Counter Culture purchased a moisture meter for Muungano, made visits during harvests, and committed to purchasing coffee from Buchiro washing station—one of five owned by the cooperative.
During our visits, we were impressed with the dedication and leadership of Muungano’s General Manager, Daniel Habamungu. Daniel, along with Quality Manager Ismael Lipanda, work to ensure the coffees set aside for Counter Culture meet our physical and sensory quality standards. Each year, the co-op has delivered lots exceeding those standards which is no small task considering the resources available to the group. This natural sundried lot was prepared by selecting only ripe cherries from members’ deliveries, then floated in water to remove those that were damaged by insects or otherwise imperfect before going out to raised beds for slow drying–all the while being meticulously hand sorted to further improve quality and consistency.
In recent years the cooperative has received multiple Seeds grants, submitting a diverse and creative range of proposals. In 2020, they distributed over 50,000 coffee plants and 10,000 Grevillea shade trees to members across the region. Since then, they’ve also received funds for a literacy program focused on youth and women, as well as purchasing sewing machines and tailoring training creating small businesses in more isolated communities which make, repair and sell clothing for community members. Muungano’s communication and execution surrounding these projects has been excellent, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
