Hingakawa Women's Association // Rwanda

Reminds us of - Cara Cara Orange & Vanilla Hingakawa Women's Association // Abakundakawa CWS, Rushashi, Rwanda Fully washed Jackson Bourbon // 1700 - 2000 masl Our OG producer partnership, we've been working with the homies of Abakundakawa Cooperative since day one of QC. They're the community hub for over 2200 members, all of whom are smallholder farmers, in Rwanda's northern volcanic region of Rushashi. The co-op is a leader in Rwanda's coffee industry with a progressive focus on water/energy savings, advanced pulp recycling methods, and a women's empowerment association within the co-op called Hingakawa. Hingakawa is a group of 740 widowed women, both Hutu and Tutsi, who lost their husbands in the Rwandan genocide and subsequent conflicts. They cultivate coffee on a collective plot, in addition to providing cherries from their personal landholdings, as a form of social reconciliation and restoration. We first met the leadership of Hingakawa in 2016, right before launching QC, and contributed a profit share with them in the following years. In 2019, they completed the Hingakawa community center, supported in part by this profit share. The center provides textile training for off-season income, food systems guidance, and nutritional inputs, as well as a space for child care while members are working at the washing station. We're proud to continue our long-standing partnership with these amazing coffee producers!