Kalehe Arabica Coffee Cooperative

Out of the devastation of war, Kalehe Arabica Coffee Cooperative (KACCO) is providing support and hope to women and men in the community, and giving great coffee to the international market.

Founded in
2013

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

Altitude
1,463m to 2,050m

Membership
3,179 producers (993 women and 2,186 men)

Average size of land per farmer
0.20 hectares

Green coffee production capacity / year
452.2 tonnes

Varieties
Bourbon, Blue Mountain Jamaica, Jackson, Mulungu, Karabese, Katimore

Grades
K3, K4

Certifications
Starbucks® C.A.F.E. Practices, Organic (in process)

coming soon…

video from KACCO

Headquarter
Munanira near Royal Palace of the Buhavu Chiefdom in the Mbinga Group South in the Kalehe Territory

Management team
Board of Directors (5 members), the Management team (6 members) and a Supervisory Board (3 members)

Technical team
13 agronomists and 6 technicians in washing stations during harvest time

Infrastructure
3 washing stations: Mushenyi, Nyamukubi, Kanenge

Main harvest period
February to July

Export period of main harvest
May to August

Fly crop period
October to December

Export period of fly crop
December to February

Kalehe Arabica Coffee Cooperative

Kalehe Arabica Coffee Cooperative, KACCO was formerly a non-profit local development association, Conseil d'Encadrement des Agriculteurs de Kalehe. Created in 2013, KACCO initially provided psychological and economic support to the local population, particularly women, in the aftermath of the war from 1996 to 2004. At its inception, the cooperative had 1,200 smallholder coffee farmers and ten years later it has 3,179 members, including 993 women. It directly aims to improve the well-being of its members through the production and marketing of specialty arabica coffee on the international market.

Initially, ten tonnes of specialty green coffee were exported to Starbucks in 2014. The cooperative is now exporting seven containers per year. Profit from coffee sales is invested in better equipment and training in good agricultural and environmental practices for the farmers, improving quality and quantity of their coffee.

The cooperative is making lives better, transforming the social and economic capacity of its members and of the wider community.

The cooperative has encouraged its members to form small groups of 20-25 people to create AVEC: Association Villageoise d'Epargne et de Crédit. They pool their savings and distribute revolving credit to finance other income-generating activities to improve their savings and meet their basic needs. To increase access to credits, the cooperative invests a part of its profit in the AVEC common fund.

The cooperative has a fund which contributes to community development projects, such as the construction and catchment of water sources in the villages.

The fund also provides equipment for health centres.

The fund supports the construction of local churches, schools and agricultural roads.