89.97

Vunga cws is located Jomba sector of the Nyabihu district of Rwanda’s Western Province. Close to the borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this area has rugged terrain with steep hills and deep misty valleys. The washing station, which sits at 1463 meters above sea level, has a natural water source from the nearby Volcanic Virunga National Park.

Prior to the formation of the producer’s association in January 2009, Vunga coffee farmers processed their coffee cherries naturally at their homes since they were too far away to deliver coffee to a washing station. For these farmers, the combination of remote farm locations, poor infrastructure, and low quality processing meant very low prices. In 2008, Technoserve donated a Penagos system and processing expertise to build the Vunga washing station. This enabled the 769 smallholder farmer members to produce quality washed coffee and in turn receive much better prices.

The coffee plantations that supply cherries to the coffee washing stations covers around 72 ha, among which 36% is the CWS owned land, while the remaining 64% is owned by different individuals . the coffee plantation where cherries are collected is expanded into  4 main sectors including Rugera, Shyira, Rurembo and Jomba sectors.

Specific information and climatic conditions
Latitude: 458408 m; Longitude: 9812072m
Province: Western; District: Nyabihu; Sector: Jomba
Altitude: 1457 meters, (from 1500 to 1700 m); Coffee variety: Arabica
Soil type: Silt-clay-sandy and silty-sandy; Soil pH mean: 5.
Precipitation range: 1300 to 1400 mm
Temperature range: 19 -20 degrees Celsius
CWS Owner: Vunga Coffee; Status: Cooperative
Processing capacity: 250 tons/Year
Processing System:  Wet processing
Drying system: natural sun drying