|
|
| |
| |
 |
| Archive News from Ndumberi Co-operative Coffee Improvement Project - December 2006 |
 |
|
 |
| December 2006 was abnormally wet in Kenya. Long rains continued throughout the December festive season. For most farmers in Ndumberi, the month of December is treated as a vacation month, when farmers slow their pace and take time to meet with family members and enjoy delicious Chama Choma (roast goat barbecues). Ndumberi farmers, most of whom are Christians by faith, celebrated Christmas with pomp and colour and all were anxious to usher in a new year. In December, there were few activities going on in coffee farms apart from picking the odd coffee beans that were late to ripen. |
| |
 |
 |
| Ndumberi farmers now understand that a good harvest is a quality harvest. Kenyan coffee is famous for its intrinsic quality manifested by its sweet acidity, full body and fruity flavours. At Ndumberi Co-op, farmers preserve these coffee attributes by selectively hand picking only the red ripe berries. The beans are then carefully sorted to ensure that only the good ones are pulped. What follows is a meticulous and rigorous process of grading, washing and slow-drying in the sun on special drying tables that ensure beans do not come into contact with soil or contaminants. |
| By the close of the year, Ndumberi Co-op had received 1.2 Million Kg cherry at its three Wet Mills namely Ndumberi Main, Riabai and Ngaita. The Co-op estimates to get about 4000 bags of parchment from the cherry. Most of the parchment is dry. The co-op managers are able to accurately monitor the beans moisture content by using a moisture meter provided by the Utz Kapeh project, moving from rudimentary methods previously used to estimate the moisture levels in beans. A sizeable amount of parchment grade 1 is already sorted and bagged ready for market. |
|
|
|
 |
| Ndumberi Co-op has booked its parchment for milling at Socfinaf mills. The Co-op has planned to deliver at least one consignment from each Wet Mill in the month of February. Ngaita Wet Mill will deliver 600 bags of P1 on 13th February 2007, Riabai will send 800 bags of P1 on 20th February and Ndumberi will deliver 800 bags of the same quality on the 27th of the same month. 'We are sending our best coffee to Socfinaf for milling; I hope FOUR SQUARE will buy this consignment which is the fruit of our project partnership with them and Sangana Commodities (Kenya) Ltd' states Raymond Gitau, the Co-op chairman. |
|
| |
|
 |
| Ndumberi farmers and management are optimistic that 2007 has good things in store. 'We hope to develop a strong business relation with Sangana Commodities (Kenya) Ltd as our project manager and coffee marketer. We also hope FOUR SQUARE, apart from sponsoring a health clinic at one of our Wet Mills, will buy more from us. We are positive that we have better grades of higher quality than last year.' discloses Raymond. |
| In related news Sangana Commodities (K) ltd, the project manager of the FOUR SQUARE Ndumberi coffee improvement project, have been licensed as a coffee marketer by the Coffee Board of Kenya. Ndumberi Co-op has approached Sangana to assist with cash advances against parchment to assist farmers to pay for school fees and pruning in January and farm inputs in March. |
|
 |
|
| |
 |
 |
Samuel Kariuki is a leading coffee farmer and a member of the management committee who leads by example. This year alone, he delivered over 4 tons of cherry from his 1000 coffee trees to Ngaita Wet Mill. Out of his 1000 coffee stems, 100 are Ruiru 11 variety that is resistant to coffee berry disease and leaf rust diseases, 200 are of traditional SL 28 variety and the rest is K7 variety. |
| To Samuel coffee is a life line. Born in 1948 to a large polygamous family of 3 wives, Samuel and all his brothers and sisters were brought up and educated through coffee sales. His parents were small scale farmers in Ting’ang’a village near Ngaita. |
| Samuel completed his secondary education in 1974 and was promptly employed by neighbouring Sasini Coffee Estates as a field man. He later rose to the post of Purchasing Driver, a post he held until his retirement in 2005. |
| Keeping to his family reputation Samuel is a family man. He is married to 2 Wives and is a happy father of six. Samuel is a hard worker, from the money he earns from his coffee and a few dairy cows he has seen his children through secondary school. |
|
|
| Samuel is a long serving member of the board having served the Co-op since 1989. He attributes farmers’ faith in him to his honesty, management skills and to the fact that he practices leadership by example. The board members have reciprocated by electing him to the post secretary to the board, and he is therefore charged with the task of record keeping and taking minutes. |
| Samuel is very grateful to FOUR SQUARE for sponsoring the rehabilitation of Ndumberi Wet Mills and hopes the company can buy more of Ndumberi coffee at good prices just like last year. He also appreciates the precious advice the farmers receive from Sangana’s members of staff. |
| 'Considering the assistance we have received from FOUR SQUARE and Sangana Commodities and the measures the government is taking to restructure the coffee industry... I can see a bright future for our farmers' asserts Samuel full of optimism. |
|
 |
 |
| We provide regular newsletters on our projects in Kenya. Read recent and archive news from the Ndumberi Co-operative Coffee Improvement Project. |
| » Read the current news from Ndumberi |
| » More archive newsletters from Ndumberi |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
