Menno has recently returned from his travels in Africa, where he established new partnerships with the people who make what we do possible. We continue to visit coffee origins to build strong connections with our farmers and to safeguard the quality of coffee we love to drink.
Doing Better, Together
First stop, Kenya - the champagne region of coffee.
Menno begins his journey at a small coffee estate in Kirinyaga County.
He’s greeted by bright red coffee cherries and farm workers standing on ladders, carefully picking from the tops of tall coffee trees. He is welcomed by the farm owner, Alvans Mutero – a former accountant who returned from Nairobi to run his part of the family farm, where he now lives with his wife, Mary.
During our visit, we donated a high-quality moisture meter to Alvans, which can be used during the drying process. This helps increase technical precision, improving consistency, yield and quality.
And our work doesn’t stop there. Menno is currently working on new initiatives in Kenya – including shade drying, providing specialist agronomic training to farmers and introducing special organic fertilizers.
Establishing Long-Term Partnerships
For us, partnership means using our experience to tackle challenges in the industry together with our farmers – all to achieve a shared goal: developing a quality product.
Not only do we want to delight the taste buds of our loyal coffee enthusiasts, we also want to help Alvans share his beautiful coffee with the world.
Alvans’ coffee has just arrived in the Netherlands, safe in our hands – so you’ll be able to taste this adventure for yourself very soon.
Next stop, DR Congo
Where Menno is welcomed by the amazing women working in coffee.
Women in Coffee
Around 70% of the labour in coffee production is provided by women. Yet research shows that women working in coffee systematically have less access to resources such as land, credit and information than men. This creates a clear gender gap.
On his travels, Menno has been looking for opportunities to establish a supply chain capable of providing consistently fantastic quality coffee. During his time in DR Congo, he visited the Congolese coffee-sorting women in Butembo, seeking to build a value chain that can improve their lives.
Improving the lives of women in the Coffee Industry
At BOCCA, we are committed to improving the lives of women in the coffee industry and promoting gender equality.
By developing sustainable supply chains that provide access to skills and education, we can empower women involved in coffee production. This helps them produce more efficiently, achieve higher yields and increase farm income.
We will continue to build partnerships and create opportunities for women working in coffee. Empowering women in coffee means improving the coffee industry as a whole.
