The Dukundkawa Musasa Cooperative was founded in 2000. The location is in the northern Gakenke district, near the Gorilla Mountain. Production is run by about 300 farmers, 20% of which are women. There are 3 washing stations. Mbilima is located in Mbilima Cell.
Started operation in 2007, coffee beans are refined from cherries brought from 616 farmers in the Mbilima area. Cherry produced on 72 hectares of land has received multiple international organic certifications. The farm has a hill-like terrain at an altitude of 1,800-2,100m, and the washing station is located at an extremely high altitude of 2,200m.
Beans are sorted on an African table. The parchment is dried in the sun for about 24 days (the period depends on the weather).
The annual harvest time is from March to October, and the refining time is from June to October. The soil is pH 5.1 acidic, mud sand soil. The temperature is stable at 17-18 degrees.
Coffee trees are planted with a gap of about 2-2.5m. Around 2,500 trees grow per hectare.
Coffee is cultivated by small-scale farmers, and each farm owns and cultivates about 200 coffee trees. The annual rainfall is about 1,300–1,40 mm. Coffee produced in Mibilima is from a hill in the highlands above 2,000m above sea level, and is produced with the utmost care of farmers.
In addition, the lots are finely divided according to the date of harvest.
The Musasa district is located on the site of the famous former King Mibambwe's residence, and once a year farmers offer coffee seeds to the king in preparation for the next season. It is believed that the former kingdom gives people the power and courage. Although the King has left a long time ago, farmers in the Musasa area are still living there.
The Dukundekawa Cooperative is passionate about producing the best coffee beans. The Dukundekawa Cooperative has ensured a high standard of living for its members, Rwandan farmers, and has realized a sustainable coffee industry both economically and environmentally. Since acquiring Fair Trade certification in 2005, it has produced coffee beans that won the second prize at the Rwanda COE in 2010. In order to provide the highest quality of Bourbon coffee, farmers give the best consideration to the production of cherries, the
washing station, hand sorting, washing, fermentation, grading, sorting, drying and shipment to international market, promising the best work and quality control in each process. The coffee shipped from Mibilima has also won two positions at the 2018 COE.
These are the COE awards for Musasa / Dukundekawa raw beans: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018.
We have also obtained the following international certifications via high-quality production control:
-FTO (Fair Trade Organic) (Fair Trade Organic EU & USDA / USA),
-RA (Rain Forest) (Reinfolist ISO / IEC 17065 standard),
-UTZ (Largest Sustainability program in the world in Coffee) (World's Largest Sustainable Program, Coffee Production, Headquarters, Netherlands),
-CAFE Practices (Environmental standard by Starbucks)
Bean Origin: Gakenke, Mbilima, Rwanda
Varietal: Bourbon, Lot3004
Altitude: 1800-2100m
Processing: Washed
Roasting: Medium
Tasting Notes: Mandarin orange, orange peel, raisin, syrupy