Amani

On the shores of Lake Kivu, Cooperative Agricole Amani has been transforming the lives of women and young men, out of a place of violence and loss, to one of ‘amani’, or peace, in Swahili.

Founded in
2016

Location
On the Western shore of the Kivu Lake, Province du Sud-Kivu

Altitude
1,520m to 2,021m

Membership
350 producers (111 women and 239 men)

Green coffee production capacity / year
69.4 tonnes

Average size of land per farmer
0.89 hectares

Varieties
Bourbon

Grades
K3, K4

Certifications
Organic (according to the NOP, EOS and BRA standard since 2021)

Coming soon…

video from Amani

Headquarter
Buchiro, groupement de Mbinga-Nord, Province du Sud-Kivu

Management team
1 director-manager, 1 financial administration, 1 secretary-cashier

Technical team
6 agronomists and 6 technicians in the washing station during harvest time

Infrastructure
1 washing station: Vomo and 2 micro-stations: Bugarama and Kahanga
Dry milling process by the cooperative Muungano

Main harvest period
March to May

Export period of main harvest
June to August

Fly crop period
September to December

Export period of fly crop
December to February

Cooperative Agricole Amani was founded in 2016 by sixteen smallholder coffee farmers from the territory of Kalehe out of a concern for the socio-economic development of their villages.

They began by producing conventional coffee. With the technical support of the USAID/SVC project, they built their first micro-washing station in Kahanga in 2019. This improved the quality of their production, and in 2021 they started to export specialty coffee. Following this success, they built a second micro-washing station in Bugarama, and a third washing station in Vomo.

Since 2021, the coffee produced by Amani has been organic. Being organic contributes both to the economic development of their villages and also to the protection of the environment and the conservation of biodiversity in the Lake Kivu littoral and the Kalehe highlands.

The cooperative has created many permanent and seasonal jobs for young people and women from the villages of Buchiro, Kahanga, Vomo. It has undertaken successful training by agronomists on good practices for its producers.

Amani, which means peace in Swahili, is today reaching its goal by bringing ‘amani’ to the region. All the cooperative activities are putting an end to the troubles experienced in this community.

Amani

The cooperative is transforming the social and economic capacity of its members and of the wider community.

Amani provides training and jobs for young people from armed groups. The cooperative has been able to integrate perpetrators of armed robberies into the community, where they are working in the washing stations and on the farms, driving vehicles and running small businesses, earning them salaries.

The coop has provided livestock for elderly people and repaired agricultural service roads in production areas, especially in Vomo and Kahanga.

It has built a sewing centre for widows, victims of rape and child mothers in three areas: Bamba/Buchiro, Kahanga, and Bugarama. It provides training and salaried work, helping reduce unwanted pregnancies and enabling girls to live independently by carrying out small business activities.

It has created a computer center for the members to develop their IT skills.