Rwanda Gitima Mountain

DESCRIPTION: Papaya, Honeydew, White Grape

WHY WE LOVE IT: Abundant tropical fruitiness and plenty of juiciness reside in this microlot from our partners at the Sholi cooperative. 

REGION: Muhanga District, Southern Province

PROCESSING METHOD: Washed

ALTITUDE: 1,918 m

VARIETY: Bourbon

This microlot from our partners at the Sholi cooperative showcases abundant tropical fruitiness and plenty of juiciness. If you loved our recent community lot from the Rwanda Sholi cooperative, you will find a wonderful counterpart in this coffee. It's slightly more complex and delicate, yielding a sweet cup with lots to explore. 

DISCOVER MORE:

Gitima, a high mountain in the Budaha-Ndiza-Buberuka region, rises to 1,918 meters above sea level, renowned for both its natural beauty and rich coffee-growing tradition. Coffee farming in this area began in 1968 with a single farmer and saw significant growth in 1988 as more farmers joined the effort. Today, 32 dedicated smallholder farmers—14 women and 18 men—cultivate 13,900 coffee trees across 5.6 hectares, yielding 4.3 metric tons of green coffee annually. Among them, eight young farmers, aged 25 to 35, actively manage their own coffee farms, applying sustainable agricultural practices to ensure quality and longevity.  

What makes the coffee from this region truly special is its cultivation under the canopy of shade trees such as Polycious fulva, Maesopsis, Albizia, and Ficus, alongside various fruit trees. Additionally, the presence of beekeeping in the area contributes to both biodiversity and the enhancement of coffee flavor and quality, reinforcing the commitment to sustainable farming practices.

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT SHOLI:

In the past few years, perhaps no other coffee has become as anticipated or as special to us as our annual release from Rwanda Sholi. During our trip to Rwanda in 2019, we cupped their coffees and toured one of the processing stations, a farm, warehouse, and the health and community centers and formed lasting relationships along the way.

The Abateraninkunga ba Sholi cooperative (meaning 'mutual assistance') was originally established in 2008 by 30 women and received official recognition in 2013. In 2014 they received funding to build their own washing station, and in 2015 received their Fair Trade certification. Today, the cooperative continues to grow, now constituting 619 members, 241 of which are women.

In 2016 the cooperative received a grant to build a community center and a health center to serve its members and other local residents. The nearest hospital is over 45 minutes away on poor roads, so services for things such as malaria, parasites, pregnancy check-ups, and basic first aid that the health center can provide are invaluable. The community center also provides education on nutrition, cooking, and gardening in order to combat childhood malnutrition. In recent years, the cooperative started a community transformation program aimed to help 70 young mothers from the ages of 18-25. The program is designed to teach them how to save, includes small savings and credit groups, and gifts them a collective coffee field. All sales of cherry from this field go directly to the women.