Tag: coffee farmers

  • Burundi Coffee Farmer Story | Rosato Rugoke

    Burundi Coffee Farmer Story | Rosato Rugoke

    This is Rosato and he’s a Burundi coffee farmer…When he looked into my camera lens, I felt like I saw his entire soul just hanging out in the open. Like many Burundians, Rosato is not sure how old he is. He thinks that he might be 85. Rosato is one of the founding members of the Mpemba Coffee Cooperative. His father wasn’t alive when coffee was being produced in Burundi, which makes him a first generation coffee farmer. Rosato learned about coffee during the monarchy, possibly around 1932. He began with just a few trees and now he has around 400 coffee trees. It has been a long road, keeping his trees healthy throughout the war.Rosato is not alone in this life, he shares it with a wife and 4 children. He hopes his children will continue to follow in his steps, as coffee farmers.

    Hasselblad 501 C with proxers, Fuji400 desaturated

    Behind the scenes, Neo helps photograph Rosato. Mamiya 645 Pro TL , Fuji400 desaturated

  • Burundi Coffee Farmer: Benjamin from Musema

    Burundi Coffee Farmer: Benjamin from Musema

    burundi coffee farmer, burundi coffee, burundi farmer, east africa coffee farmer, long miles coffee project

    This is Benjamin. We met Benjamin along the side of a dirt road in Musema. He was picking coffee cherries from his trees, and our kids were climbing over a fallen tree nearby with some local kids. We had a minute, so I  asked Benjamin a little bit about his life. Here’s what he had to say.

    Station: Benjamin delivers his coffee cherries to Musema washing station.

    Family: Married, with one wife. He has five daughters, who all married coffee farmers. He’s very proud of that.

    Trees: Benjamin has 1200 coffee trees. That makes him a very successful farmer by Burundi’s standards.

    Last seasons crop: Last year Benjamin produced more than a ton of coffee and got 630 Burundi Francs per kilo ($.50 per kilo). That means Benjamin made about $500.00 last year. He also got a end of season bonus, along with other farmers from the station, from Bean There Coffee for producing such great coffee.

    This seasons crop: This year Benjamin is producing less coffee. Most farmers are producing more. He doesn’t know why this is. He thinks his trees will yield about 500-700 kilos of coffee cherry this year. Because the NYC price has dropped, Benjamin will only make 465 Burundi Francs per kilo this year ($.33 kilo). At best, Benjamin will make about $230.00 this year.

     

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