Rwanda Report - February 2007

Rwanda Report

Two things that were immediately striking during our visit to Rwanda:

1. How young and vulnerable the cooperative movement appears in these early stages of Rwanda’s reconstruction; and
2. How present the political, legal and emotional reconciliation process remains in Rwandan’s daily life.

Basic Country Background

Rwanda is a small, land-locked country in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, which didn’t often find itself in international news until the devastating genocide of 1994.  It was first colonized by Germany in 1899, and subsequently by Belgium in 1919.  Rwanda achieved formal independence in 1962.  In order to even attempt to understand the genocide and its aftermath, it is important to look to the impact of colonial policies on Rwandan society.

It has often been argued that the genocide of 1994 was routed in ancient, “tribal rivalries" between the Hutu and the Tutsi. But, this overlooks the historical reality that Hutu and Tutsi never constituted an ethnic distinction.  Prior to the colonial period, the Hutu and Tutsi constituted a singular cultural community with a shared language and a flexible division of labour (between agriculturalists and pastoralists respectively) that allowed for significant social mobility.  It was not until a variety of "divide and rule" mechanisms where implemented under colonial control that the Hutus and Tutsis were ultimately politicized and racialized . 

The reforms of 1926 to 1936 were fundamental to the construction of the Tutsis as a member of a separate race, the Hamitic race, and the Hutus as members of the indigenous Bantu race.  A census was performed by Belgian colonial administrators and identity cards were issued - solidifying the arbitrary distinctions between the “races”.  The school system and local administrations were key institutions in fostering legitimacy in the racialized political system.  Ultimately, Hutu and Tutsi were political identities, and by decree the Tutsi minority (constituting approximately 15% of the population) was given authority over the Hutu majority.  This system first erupted into violent conflict in 1959, which led to the transfer of power at the local administrative level from Tutsi to members of the Hutu elite and a first wave a mass migration.

This kind of civil unrest resurfaced again from 1990 onwards and culminated in one hundred days of intense violence between April and July of 1994, during which approximately 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists.  Torture and rape were widespread weapons of the genocide.  The social, political, and economic legacies of the genocide abound and remain concerns for the country today.  Due to the prevalence of rape and sexual abuse during the conflict, a very high number of women and girls were infected with HIV or experienced other health problems as a result.  In addition, Rwanda has one of the world’s largest proportions of child-headed households in the world due to the widespread nature of the genocide.  

As a result of this intense social and political upheaval, Rwanda’s economy suffered greatly from the conflict.  In 1994 alone, the GDP fell by approximately 50%.  While this has been rising slowly since the end of the genocide, Rwanda still remains heavily dependent on foreign aid for the provision of basic services within the country.

The Coffee Connection

However, despite the obstacles Rwanda faces in post-conflict reconstruction, the potential for poverty reduction and development through fair trade coffee and cooperatives appears to be great.  The Rwandan economy is primarily agricultural: this sector accounts for 41% of the country’s GDP and constitutes 90% of the population’s employment.  As such, with greater stability and control over the production and sale of their coffee, Rwandan coffee farmers and their families stand to benefit from more equitable access to the market.

That said, Rwanda is a country that is placing, perhaps to a fault, all of its development eggs in the coffee basket. Since the start of reconstructing “post-Genocide” Rwanda, coffee is a top priority. Aid organizations, led by US AID have poured millions into building up washing stations in the hopes of transforming the Rwandan “café ordinaire” into an appreciated specialty product.

Since the first washing stations – constructed under the PEARL project and initiated in 2001 then under a US AID technical support donation program – the transformation from unwashed to washed coffees and the reputation of Rwandan coffee has been soaring.

Washing stations, it seems, are deemed the key to market success… and the washing station building boom continues to sweep the country.

The only problem is that with few exceptions, the sale of this fine coffee is not covering the upfront investment nor payback costs of the infrastructure. Even the coops that came in under the PEARL donations are struggling to make a profit. But now, since that first phase of donations, any new washing stations are being built under credit programs, and it appears all but impossible that the cooperatives (nor the private operators) will be able to keep to an established repayment plan.

Part of the challenge is that the model for washing stations is overly elaborate and costly – between $80,00 and $100,000 each. But another factor is the reality that land holdings in Rwanda – the most densely populated country in Africa – are incredibly small. Most farmers we met have between 250 and 500 trees. Therefore, a coffee farmer is attempting to support his or her family on the sale of just a few sacks of coffee.  

The Meetings

OCIR

SPREAD

PDDCRE and the former TWIN technical-team

We began our country tour at the OCIR offices. We met with Ephrem Niyonsaba, Director of the Rwandan Coffee Board. He gave us a quick overview and the official welcome. He also generously offered his drivers and vehicles to help us get around this beautiful, rugged, complicated country.

From the OCIR office, we stepped across the path to meet part of the staff that was formerly working in conjunction with the TWIN Trading support team and with the new staff of the SPREAD project (the extension of the former PEARL project). SPREAD is expected to pick up where PEARL left of and increase its assistance coverage to coops not formerly included in the original scope of the project. From my brief experience in Rwanda, it seems that the distinct coop networks are barely on talking terms… and I wonder about the viability of one established network being capable (or appropriate) of coordinating development and market development for everybody else.

We were somewhat concerned to learn that although already well into the first month of  “Phase II” of the program, the two groups (located literally 15 steps away from each other, had not yet had the chance to meet and discuss how this convergence might occur). We also met with Alfred Matebwa from the PPDCRE project – that had housed the TWIN training initiative and controlled the administration of that work. Alfred is very skeptical of the potential impact of Fair Trade and of organics in the field… not helpful leadership in a country where keeping moral up is already a challenge.  

For our visits, we relied primarily upon the support of Joy Tushabe, formerly TWIN – now OCIR staff. She had prepared a visit IAKB and AKG – the two coops that supplied our first container of Rwandan coffee. These two coops are located in the Kagera River Basin and founded in 1999 and 2005, respectively. They each have impressively large washing stations and yet, en expected supply of cherries to fill just a container or two of specialty grade coffee.

The Cooperatives

IAKB was founded in 1999 with 300 members as an informal association. In 2005 IAKB was formally structured as a cooperative. In 2005 they completed construction of their washing station, and received 146 tons of cherry. They now count 1,161 members and are capable of processing 500 tons of cherries (equivalent of approx. 5 containers).

AKG was founded in 2005 with 1,448 with the principle objective of finding direct markets for their members’ coffee. They are quite new and inexperienced. There was a surprising lack of understanding about both production and market issues.

On Wednesday we visited the “pilot project” for organic production located with the Abakundakawa cooperative. They have been receiving technical support from agronomist and trained cupper, Diogene Niyonzima… who also happened to be the most enthusiastic technical advisor we met during our time in Rwanda. “If only organics would be embraced with the same enthusiasm as the washing station proposals…” Mark commented. “But they are not.”

ABAKUNDAKAWA

Founded in 1999 with 900 members, the coop has now grown to include some 1997 members, of whom some 700 are women. The coop is governed by a 14-member board. We met with their primary officers of their BoD, washing station managers and 16 of their organic “animators”.  This appears to be a cooperative with very high level of interest and enthusiasm. But it is as of yet unclear whose marketing umbrella they will fall under in order to get their coffee exported.

Chairman  – Charles Hachutic

Vice-chair – Charles Gashumba

Secretary – Serafina Hidahai

Treasurer – Boniface Munyabarensie

Organic Advisor – Diogene Niyonzima

 COOPAC

COOPAC was the first cooperative in the Giseny and Rutsiro regions of Lake Kivu to build a collective washing station.  That was the Nyamwenda station constructed in 2003 (partial grant, partial credit). Today, some 50 washing stations dot the northern lake landscape.

“Between the cooperative and the private washing stations, there is now an intense local competition for the Kivu coffee cherries,” COOPAC general manager Emmanuel Rwakagera explains.

And the proof is in the pricing. Where local middlemen might offer 80 to 100 Rwandan Francs per kilo of cherry in other regions of the country, Kivu cherries are fetching 100 to 130 Francs at the peak of the season.

Lake Kivu, a region with rich volcanic soils, frequent rainfall and good altitude, is also earning the reputation for supplying the finest quality Rwanda has to offer. During the East African Fine Coffee Association annual conference and regional quality competition, COOPAC placed first for the continent.

COOPAC (Cooperative pour la Promotion des Activities Café) was founded in April 2001 with 110 members. Working collectively, COOPAC focused on regenerating the coffee sector in the Gisenyi region of Lake Kivu.

 “Our initial objective was to take advantage of the excellent natural resources in our region and focus on producing the highest quality coffee for the gourmet market,” says Emmanuel. “But our ultimate goal is to see higher returns for our collective efforts and to increase the well being of our members – the coffee producers of this region.” 
COOPAC was quick to see returns on its investments. Prices began climbing in recognition of the quality improvements and likewise, the organization began to grow. In 2002 COOPAC included more than 300 members. In 2003, COOPAC constructed the Nyamwenda washing station and achieved FLO certification. In 2004 membership had risen to 1,500 members. Last year that number reached 2,198 members and exported 12 containers of Fair Trade certified coffee.

But not resting on its awards, COOPAC continues to push to transform coffee culture and improve cultivation practices. “For our high production and for our quality recognition, the Rwandan government offers awards to our farmers in the form of chemical fertilizer prizes,” Emmanuel explains. “But this is not the kind of support we want. We have been attempting to lobby our government to offer a cow to every family instead. That would be a sustainable resource for us – with one cow per family, we could guarantee a continual supply of organic fertilizer over the years to come.”

 We were able to visit the coop and saw the early season preparations shifting into full swing.