Building the next generation of coffee farmers in Rwanda
For many of the people growing it, coffee no longer feels capable of supporting the kind of future younger generations want to stay for.
In Nyamasheke, Western Rwanda, many young people were leaving rural communities in search of more stable work elsewhere.
In 2021, alongside export partner Tropic Coffee and wholesale partner Baltzersens, we helped launch a long-term project focused on helping coffee feel worth building a future around again.
What began with 20 young people and 20,000 coffee trees has continued to grow year after year.
Watch the video above to hear the full story of this project.
The coffees connected to this project
The coffees produced through the Ijabo project continue to improve year after year, reflecting the growing confidence, knowledge and stability being built within the group.
Thanks to the certainty that comes from a long term relationship with us, we have been able to confidently support alternative post-harvest processing to showcase unique flavour profiles that unlock a new way to experience Rwandan coffees.
What support looked like
The project launched in 2021 at Muremure Farm in Nyamasheke, Western Rwanda.
Using funds raised through North Star impact initiatives, the project helped support the development of 8 hectares of farmland alongside the planting of 20,000 coffee trees.
20 young local participants each received:
- Coffee trees to manage
- Harvesting support
- Organic compost
- Agronomy training
- Financial literacy support
The goal was never quick fixes or short-term aid, but helping more young people feel confident that coffee could support a future worth building.
What’s changed so far
Helping strengthen the future sustainability of coffee
By supporting the next generation of producers to enter and remain within the industry.
Creating stronger long-term incentive to continue investing in specialty coffee
Creating stronger long-term incentive to continue investing in coffee.
Young producers choosing to stay in coffee
Helping make coffee feel like something capable of supporting long-term futures within local communities.
Ongoing financial reward
In return for exceptional coffee, participants access funds for personal spending and household income and are more able to plan ahead and save for the future.
Zero dropout rate so far
Every participant remains actively involved in coffee production — a strong sign of the project’s long-term viability.
Improved yields and coffee quality year after year
As confidence, training and stability have continued to grow, so has production and coffee quality.
Meet the Ijabo Producer Group
The young producers involved in the project named themselves “Ijabo”, meaning dignity in Kinyarwanda.
For many involved, coffee now represents something very different than it once did: the possibility of building stable income, independence and long-term opportunity within their own communities.
Through conversations with the producers involved, Tropic Coffee and the wider community, the film below explores what happens when coffee begins to feel capable of supporting a future again
“After starting work here, we formed a group and began saving. Because girls face many challenges, we can now become more independent, we can even buy our own body oil without asking our parents.”
Jeannette Bihoyiki, Ijabo producer,
“The money I get from this project helps me progress. When you receive your money you can buy livestock, and it generates benefits (for your family). You can then buy a second one, a third, get five! It continues to grow in this way.”
Josiane Irafashi, Ijabo producer
“The project has changed the trajectory of many young people here. You can already see change happening in this area.”
Eric Rutanga - Farm Manager
Every cup you brew helps shape what coffee’s future looks like.
Projects like this won’t solve every challenge facing coffee overnight.
But they can help more young people feel confident that coffee is something capable of supporting stable, meaningful lives within their own communities.
And when that happens, coffee becomes more than a crop alone. It becomes a source of long-term knowledge, opportunity, pride and connection passed between generations.
It’s easy to think about coffee simply as part of a daily routine. Something picked up on the way to work, brewed at home or shared with friends.
But behind every cup is a chain of people, choices and futures connected to it.
Projects like Ijabo exist because more people are choosing to value coffee differently, and in the process, are helping to create more stability, opportunity and long-term confidence for the people growing it.
That future gets built slowly.
Cup by cup.
Harvest by harvest.
Year by year.
Thank you for being part of it.