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| Archive News from Ndumberi Co-operative Coffee Improvement Project - January 2007 |
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| January was dry and relatively hot. Temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius during the day were the order of the day. For most of Ndumberi's farmers, January is a trying month... what else is expected with 'back to school' time upon them once again! Demand for cash is high with a good number of children joining boarding secondary schools. Anxiety among parents and children, most of whom have never left the village before, normally increases as the date to report to secondary school approaches. Raising school fees is a Herculean task for most parents who in most cases had overspent during the Christmas festivities in December. |
| News about the outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley Fever in Kenya is causing a scare in the villages. The disease was first reported a couple of weeks ago and is reported to have claimed over 150 lives in the country. For now Ndumberi is free from the disease and the ministry of health official claims the disease is under control. |
| In other news, the World Social Forum was held a week ago in Nairobi at Moi Sports Centre, Kasarani. Many distinguished participants, including Nobel peace laureates Prof. Wangari Maathai and Bishop Desmond Tutu, assembled in Nairobi to discuss social issues, food security and poverty reduction in developing world. Factors affecting coffee production, social environments and market access for small producers in the world were discussed in a special forum held on 22nd January 2007. |
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| For Ndumberi farmers, it is always great to host visitors. Villagers are taught at an early age that visitors bring blessings. Farmers in this region are known for their hospitality, typical hospitality that drives the Kenya tourism industry. Peter Hall and Estelle Levacher from FOUR SQUARE, accompanied by Julius Ng'ang'a from Sangana Commodities (Kenya) Ltd, took a two day tour to inspect project work undertaken by the Ndumberi Coffee Improvement Project and funded by FOUR SQUARE. |
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| Peter was happy to be back again in Kenya, while Estelle was overwhelmed by the warmth of Ndumberi farmers that made her feel at home away from home. Estelle marvelled at the meticulous and elaborate process that the Kenya coffee undergoes from the flower bud to the cup. |
| At Sangana offices, Peter and Estelle were able to cup some top coffees from Kenya and to learn a lot on quality checks that the company employs to ensure only the best Kenya beans are shipped to its clients. |
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Ndumberi Coffee Improvement Project is a success story. The FOUR SQUARE team was impressed by what has been achieved so far. Wet Mills have been renovated and permanent drying tables constructed. Farmers' interest in coffee farming has been revived. This has resulted in coffee yields in the Co-op shooting from 450,000 Kg cherry last year to 1.1 million this year. Next the management aims at improving production further to fully utilise their installed pulping capacity that stands at 2 million Kg cherry. |
| The visiting team also reviewed year 2007 project plans that include putting up a basic health facility that will serve over 2000 Ndumberi farmers and their families. Future areas of business partnerships geared towards achieving sustainable coffee production and improving the farmers living standards were discussed among the three partners Ndumberi, Sangana and Four Square. |
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| Peter and Estelle briefed the Co-op board on market performance of their Kenyan Dawn, a specialty Ndumberi coffee product that was launched in May 06 in the UK and January 07 in North America. The Co-op board was delighted to hear that markets for their coffee bought and sold by FOUR SQUARE are growing by leaps and bounds. They promised to maintain high coffee quality in order to sustain the phenomenal growth. |
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| Ndumberi Co-op has sent the first consignment of its parchment 1 coffee to Socfinaf Mills for milling and grading. The consignment of over 800 bags of parchment from Ndumberi Main Wet Mill was received at the Dry Mill on 25th January 2007. The Co-op has already appointed Sangana Commodities to act as its marketing agent. FOUR SQUARE has expressed interest in the coffee that will go to the market in mid February, |
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| 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 |
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