Mokaflor FARM Tanzania Karagwe 250 g ground

The Karagwe District Cooperative Union is a cooperative founded in 1990, which brings together many small producers from the region near Lake Victoria, bordering Rwanda and Uganda. 

The main objective of KDUC is the production of selected Robusta coffee on the hills of the Karagwe and Kyerwa region. Coffee represents an important but still limited source of income for farmers given the small size of the plantations. 

Coffee grown in the region is 100% organic, although not certified, as farmers do not have the funds to use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. 

Coffee cultivation is combined with other crops such as corn, millet, beans and chicken and cow farming. 

Cow breeding is also very useful for the supply of organic fertilizer and helps maintain soil fertility and the right level of humidity- During the harvest period, between April and July, growers harvest all the ripe cherries by hand and dry them on patios and raised beds. 

During the drying phase, the drupes are regularly rotated to ensure uniform drying and further selected to remove any immature beans or foreign objects. 

Once dried, the beans are transported to the Cooperative which takes care of removing the parchments, selecting and bagging them for export. KDUC members face numerous difficulties on a daily basis, the main one is certainly the cost of purchasing agricultural equipment, fertilizers and new plants necessary to increase production and combat the lack of resources.  KDUC supports its members through various initiatives ranging from subsidized loans for the purchase of new equipment, to the use of Fair Trade price premiums to help growers and support school education in the area.