Maraba Coffee is a Fairtrade coffee produced in the Maraba area of
southern Rwanda. About 2,000 smallholder farmers grow the coffee
plants under the Abahuzamugambi cooperative, founded in 1999. Since
2000, the cooperative has been supported by the National University of
Rwanda and the Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through
Linkages. The cooperative, which includes many growers who lost family
members in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, has improved coffee quality and
penetrated the specialty market. Farmers' revenues have increased,
allowing for livestock investments, affordable medical insurance, and
improved education. Maraba's coffee plants are the Bourbon variety of
the Coffea arabica species and are grown on fertile volcanic soils on
high-altitude hills. The fruit is handpicked, mostly during the rainy
season between March and May, and brought to a washing station in
Maraba where the coffee beans are extracted and dried. At several
stages, the beans are sorted according to quality. The beans are sold
to various roasting companies, with the highest quality beans going to
Union Coffee Roasters of the United Kingdom and Community Coffee of
the United States.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraba_Coffee
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Today's selected anniversaries:
406:
The Vandals, Alans and Suebians crossed the Rhine River to begin an
invasion of Gaul.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaul)
1600:
The British East India Company was founded by a Royal Charter of Queen
Elizabeth I.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company)
1963:
The Central African Federation officially collapsed, eventually to
become Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland)
1972:
American baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en
route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente)
1999:
Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected President of Russia,
resigned and named Vladimir Putin as Acting President.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin)
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Wikiquote of the day:
When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your
next objective. -- George Marshall
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Marshall)