Category: Rwanda

What makes Kopakaki different?

Kopakaki is one of Rwanda’s pioneering coffee cooperatives, with a proud and resilient history. After facing a challenging few years, the cooperative has successfully regrouped by organizing its 96 most dedicated farmers into eight groups for training and sharing best practices.

Kopakaki is deeply committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of its production. The cooperative is leading the way in developing and producing organic compost and pesticides, including an impressive large-scale “wormery.” They firmly believe that proactive investments in organic farming methods are essential for boosting productivity. The cooperative also boasts an active women’s association, where women come together to work on the coffee plot and learn new cultivation techniques. They produce small lots of women’s coffee for export, highlighting the important role women play in the industry.

Kopakaki’s well-established youth program has made great strides since its inception. The Youth in Coffee Farming Association was launched in 2020 with just 16 members and now has 80 active participants. The cooperative has also introduced the Nyabihuta youth internship program in partnership with the Rwanda Training and Vocation Board’s local Vocational Training Centre. This initiative provides young people with hands-on experience across every stage of the coffee value chain—from production to processing, quality evaluation, and roasting. Due to the success of the pilot program, plans are underway to expand it nationwide.

Additionally, Kopakaki runs a tourism program that takes advantage of its prime location along the road to Kibuye on Lake Kivu. This initiative educates visitors about sustainable coffee production while generating a supplementary income for the cooperative.

Mission

We support coffee farmers in boosting both the quality and quantity of their production through guidance from our agronomists. Small farmer groups have been formed to encourage collaboration and mutual support.

Key achievements

Established cooperative-owned coffee farms and introduced new processing methods, including natural and honey processes.