| Current
Crop Comments: |
A
real surprise ... Specialty grade coffee from Congo this year,
with a rustic yet complex cup. The Kivu Peaberry is a first step,
and hopefully Congo can follow the path of Rwanda in re-making
their coffee production into a more refined, well-defined apellation.
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Kivu is the general
name for East Congo (Kinshasa), covering a very broad geographical
area. It borders on Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Lake Tanganyika on
the east. Kivu is divided into three provinces, Nord-Kivu (North Kivu),
Sud-Kivu (South Kivu), and Maniema. Coffee, cotton, rice, and palm
oil are produced, and tin and some gold are mined. The Ruwenzori mountains,
Kahuzi-Biega National Park, and part of Maiko National Park are in
the region. Most of Kivu was controlled (1961—62) by the breakaway
regime of Antoine Gizenga, which was centered at Kisangani (then Stanleyville).
Kivu was a base for various rebel groups in the 1990s. A revolt against
the central Congolese government at Leopoldville [now Kinshasa] had
broken out in Kwilu and Kivu provinces. The Kivu rebels have established
a Revolutionary Government of the Eastern Congo with headquarters at
Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. (Part of the Congo problem is the
direct involvement and support in turmoil sponsored by neighboring
governments. The Ruzizi Valley in Kivu is controlled by the rebels
who claimed to be led by Patrice Lumumba (who in fact was killed in
1961!!!). With recent elections in Congo, the hope for stability and
the continuation of the cease fire is possible. But this is a tumultuous
political scene, with mineral, gold and diamond wealth as inspiration
to the various factions. Kivu area is directly affected. Of course,
smallholder coffee farmers are the first to suffer. So in a sense the
export to the US of coffee is in itself a positive sign about East
Congo stability. What I hope to see next is NGO and others move in
and try to firmly re-establish the coffee trade, rebuild mills, offer
education toward specialty coffee production, and install a Fair Trade
pricing model. The fact is, Congo coffee is being exported on the cheap.
The price is below fair trade, which is actually the minimum we like
to pay, with most of our lots offered at higher-that-fair-trade prices.
As
an practical-yet-imperfect
measure to benefit the situation
coffee farmers of Congo find themselves in,
we have donated .20
cents per Lb. from this lot to Doctors Without Borders, who
continue to be active providing relief in Kivu. -Tom |
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