Organic Congo Beans: SOPACDI Co-Operative

D.R Congo, map, congo map, altitude, region, origin, North Kivu, coffee growers

  • Country:   DR Congo
  • Region:     North Kivu
  • Farm:    Various  smallholder  farmers 
  • Variety:  Bourbon, local derivatives
  • Altitude:   1460–2000 masl
  • Process/Method:  Washed 

coffee growers, coffee beans, coffee farmers, Congo, co-operative, process

The Democratic Republic of the Congo 'DRC' ( not to be confused with neighboring Republic of the Congo) is an interesting origin just barely on the radar of specialty coffee.

An emphasis on high-quality Arabica coffee is just gaining a foothold among producers here, as until recently a long  established Robusta economy has been more prevalent.

The country itself is the fourth most-heavily populated on the continent, and is the second-largest nation in Africa as well. Despite the high population, resources such as roads, potable water, and electricity are scarce.

congo, coffee, coffee producers, co-operative, farmers, fair trade, coffee beans, organic

SOPACDI (Solidarité Paysanne pour la Promotion des Actions Café et Development Intégral) is an organisation comprising of more than 5,600 farmers, roughly 20 percent of whom are women, located near Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 Joachim Munganga, founded SOPACDI in 2003 by restoring a washing station in the area, providing service and market access to the growers in these extremely remote highlands. Before he undertook this work, farmers had little to no means to transport coffee to the markets, and instead were forced to simply barter their coffee locally for food, clothing, and necessities. The cooperative was the first to achieve Fair Trade certification in Congo, and the coffee also carries organic certification. 

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