Mwika North - Tanzania
International Community Give Back Partner - 2022
Mwika North is a cooperative of around 180 coffee farmers on the picturesque slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania just a few kilometers from the border of Kenya. The microclimate surrounding these farmers’ land is ideal for coffee production, but quality has historically been lackluster because of legacy information and outdated practices. At a different time and promoting different priorities, NGOs would try to get farmers’ production volume up and processing done quickly for the sake of faster cash flow. A new era with a focus on quality is sweeping the specialty producers of the world and Mwika North is leading Northern Tanzania toward the reputation the great coffee of the neighboring Kenya.
Until 2019, farmers in this area were picking coffee and processing it right on their own property. This is referred to as “home processing” and is common practice in many coffee growing areas globally. Though education on processing practices is available for this area, over time, each person could easily make individual changes based on factors such as space, infrastructure, tools or amount of available help. The idea of a centralized processing facility would be a helpful next step for this community to homogenize quality and coalesce into a common flavor profile that wouldn't fluctuate with individual practices.
Around 2009, a project was completed in the community to create a centralized mill (CPU) to process coffee from picked cherry to parchment coffee – the term used for coffee just before it is dry milled, prepping it for export. However, the operation of this CPU depended on either a gas-powered generator or electricity to run the equipment. Neither of these were feasible for the community. In 2019, led by a strong Chairman and active board and armed with signed contracts with Deeper Roots and a few other roasters as leverage, Mwika North was approved for a loan to run electricity to the CPU, finish some necessary building needs, build on-site waste water treatment for coffee processing water and build a plant nursery for member farmers. This would allow for a centralized location for farmers to deliver coffee cherry daily, receive payment for that cherry sooner, and would begin to galvanize the community towards higher quality and thus higher prices. The work for this began in late summer of 2019 and was completed in enough time to run a small test batch through the CPU.
This year, we received coffee from the community that was still home processed as well as all the coffee that was processed at the newly completed CPU. This allowed us to compare the quality difference between the two processes and offer feedback. The difference was truly remarkable. The clarity of the coffee processed at the CPU was much more pronounced and is really more complex - it just seems to be firing on all cylinders.
Mwika North were willing to take a business risk to improve quality and potentially not see the benefit of that risk for over a year. The Chairman and board have a true vision for their community. Since Deeper Roots Coffee was founded for the opportunity to become economic partners with benignant leaders like this, we are using the international portion of the Community Blend Giveback fund to honor the investment of Mwika North in their members and community. This year we are going to be able to channel at least $5,000 USD to go towards the remaining loan balance of the CPU. This means that any quality premiums they get in the future will go into the members’ pockets instead of paying down a loan.
Thank you for helping support this relationship simply by drinking Community Blend, and we hope that this gives you some connection from our counterparts in East Africa to your morning brew.
