History
German missionaries introduced coffee to the Rwanda region in 1904. The Rwanda coffee farms average less than one hectare in size (about 165 coffee trees per coffee farmer)! Almost all Rwanda coffee is certified organic and the African culture attaches values to their efforts like Hope (“Ikizere”), Vision (“Ikerokoza”), Proud ("Ishema").
Origin
COOPAC is a Fair Trade–certified cooperative located near Lake Kivu on the steep slopes of volcanic mountains. The organization was founded by Emmanuel Rwakagara, who is the president of COOPAC as well as the owner of the Gishamwana Island coffee estate. COOPAC began with 110 farmers in April 2001, and currently has 8,000 members contributing coffee from Ack, Ubuzima, Tuzamurane, Kopabm, Abakundakurima, and Abanyamurava. With over 50 washing stations along the northern landscape of Lake Kivu, COOPAC exports 150 containers of Fair Trade certified coffee annually.
COOPAC is committed to environmental and social sustainability in addition to producing high-quality coffee. Waste by-products from processing are used as fertilizer rather than discarded into the lake, and shade trees are distributed to farmers to prevent soil erosion. COOPAC has assisted in the construction of a school, health-care clinics, and roads and bridges in the community. The cooperative also has a program to distribute cows and goats to the most productive farmers and provides farmers with an agricultural advisor to teach the latest production methods.