Rubagabaga Natural IMPACT Beyond Flagship

Purchases of this IMPACT verified coffee from Rubagabaga contribute toward an IMPACT Beyond Flagship project that establishes livestock solidarity chains that make livestock accessible for coffee farming families. As part of our Beyond Flagship program line-up, this initiative supports improved income, access to microcredit, women's business development and inputs for organic agriculture as just a few of its components, thus contributing towards our IMPACT living income goal. 

Rubagabaga washing station, established in 1992, is located on the sub-hill of Butare in the Kayanza region. The station is operated by Greenco and processes cherries from about 2,700 local farmers, each cultivating small plots of land. The area is known not only for its coffee but also for its abundant banana crops, from which it derives its name — "umubaga", a reference to the traditional banana brew made in the region. The sub-hill is also famed for its rich clay deposits, used to produce tiles and bricks for local homes. Rubagabaga station has earned a reputation for its commitment to quality and certification standards. 

The coffee in this lot is grown by smallholder farmers in Kayanza, at elevations between 1,600 and 1,900 meters above sea level. Each farmer typically manages an average farm size under 1 hectare, cultivating Red Bourbon variety. The high altitudes, fertile soils and ideal climate conditions contribute to the development of complex flavors in the coffee, enhancing its sweetness, acidity and aromatic profile. 

This coffee is IMPACT verified, ensuring that agricultural practices give priority to environmental protection and support of biodiversity. 

During harvest, cherry is handpicked by farmers, who carefully select only ripe cherry. Most farmers have small plots and harvesting is done almost entirely by the family. Smallholders deliver cherry either directly to the washing station or to one of Greenco's collection sites across the growing area, with Greenco bearing the cost of transport so that farmers are not disadvantaged by their location. 

Upon delivery, all cherry is floated to separate lower-density defects, then hand-sorted to remove any remaining damaged, underripe or overripe material. Only the highest quality cherry moves forward. Cherry is then transferred directly to raised drying beds and dried whole for two to three weeks. Workers turn the cherry regularly throughout the day to ensure even drying and continuous hand sorting removes any defective material.  

Washing stations make the first payment to farmers between 15 and 30 June. The second payment comes later in the summer. If the coffee wins a competition or sells for extremely high specialty prices, Greenco gives another payment approximately a year after the harvest season.  

Once dry, the parchment is bagged and taken to the warehouse. Greenco’s team of expert cuppers assess every lot (which remain separated by station, day and quality) at the lab. This level of traceability is maintained throughout the entire process. 

Before shipment, coffee is sent to Budeca, Burundi’s largest dry mill. The coffee is milled and hand sorted by a team of hand-pickers who look closely at every single bean to ensure zero defects. It takes a team of two hand-pickers a full day to look over a single bag. UV lighting is also used on the beans and any bean that glows (which is usually an indication of a defect) is removed. The mill produces an average of 300 containers of 320 bags per year. 

Budeca is located in Burundi’s new capital city, Gitega. The city has a population of around 30,000 people. Since there are approximately 3,000 people working at the mill, mostly as hand pickers, this means that Budeca employs nearly 10% of the total population in Gitega for at least half the year (during the milling season). The same is true in the provinces of Ngozi and Kayanza, where Greenco and Bugestal are the first employers in the region during the coffee harvest season. This has an incalculable impact on a country like Burundi, which has unemployment rates above 50%, especially in rural areas and among young people.