Coopade Coffee Cooperative
Supporting female coffee growers in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Extract Coffee Roasters has been working with growers from Coopade's Women's Section in Virunga National Park since 2020. Since then, this coffee has been a regular feature on our roasting schedule, featuring as an exclusive single origin espresso and has also been the coffee used for our Inner Strength Espresso and for Betty Espresso in 2023.
Growing coffee in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a challenging place to live and work, particularly for female coffee growers.
Armed groups target and recruit young people, then destabilise the region through horrific acts of violence against the communities who live there, including sexual violence against female agricultural workers.
Coopade Women’s Section
Coopade provides training, resources and coffee processing facilities for thousands of small coffee producers across the Virunga National park and has a variety of initiatives and programmes to support growers, in particular, women.
In July 2016, Coopade created a Women’s Section to empower women coffee farmers develop and control their own coffee production. This includes growing and harvesting the coffee and running the washing stations to process the coffee once harvested.
Coopade’s Women’s Section has built and manages seven of the fifteen Coopade washing stations. The washing stations aim to improve the yields and quality of the coffees produced by local women, to secure better livelihoods for their families.
Kirindera Washing Station
Kirindera was the first washing station built by the Coopade Women’s Section.
2020 was the first year in which Coopade separated coffee produced exclusively by female growers from the rest of the cooperative’s production. The coffee was sold with a premium to boost the women’s incomes and called the Kirindera Women’s Peace Coffee.
This was the first coffee Extract bought from Kirindera and was used in that year’s Inner Strength Espresso.
We have gone on to buy coffees from the Kirindera Women’s Section for future editions of Inner Strength, and as a single origin espresso. The Extract team were lucky enough to have video calls with the growers and talk to Gisele Kahindo of Kirindera about their coffee and the significance of the name 'Kirindera Peace Coffee'.
Kirindera Peace Coffee
“Because of the atrocities that have been committed and which continue to be committed in Eastern DR Congo.
It’s so that by growing coffee women can say no to what is happening – and in particular by employing young people we can provide them with an alternative so that they are no longer drawn to join the armed groups that are destabilizing Virunga National Park.
We want to see peace for everyone living in DR Congo, and above all for those living on the borders of the Virunga National Park.”
Gisele Kahindo of Kirindera
Vugole Washing Station
Like Kirindera, Vugole is a washing station managed by an all-female team situated in North Kivu.
In 2023 we chose the Kawa Amaha Women's Coffee as our limited edition Betty espresso. The coffee we bought was grown by 179 female smallholders, then processed centrally Vugole Washing station.
Kawa Amaha means coffee of hope in the local Kinande language and we felt that the hope, strength and determination of the women in the Kawa Amaha Women's Coffee Coopade made them an epic choice for our International Women’s Day, Betty Espresso 2023.
The cooperative provides training in leadership and coffee processing and these all-female growers have big plans ahead. The group are setting up a coffee nursery for new plants and preparing to trial their first lot of natural coffee.
GROWER PROFILE: COOPADE
| Growers: | 4,500+ smallholders, 1,700+ women |
| Cooperative: | Coopade Cooperative, Virunga National Park CoffeesWashing Stations: Vughole and Kirindera |
| CoopWashing Stationserative: | 11, 7 run by the Women's Section including Vughole and Kirindera |
| Varietals: | Blue mountain, Katwai and Rumangabo |
| Processes: | Washed & Sun Dried |
| Altitude: | 1300 to 2100 metres above sea level |
| Region: | Kirindera, Vughole, Mususa, Butembo, North Kivu Museya, Kitaragha, Luseke, North Kivu |
| Country: | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Certification: | Organic UTZ certified |
| Working with Extract since: | 2020 |
BUY COFFEES FROM COOPADE ONLINE
We're using coffees from Coopade in our 2023 year's Betty Espresso which will be available from International Women's Day on 8th March 2023.
