Iburu
300 planted trees
Mugendi is the inspiration behind Iburu, co-founder and the father to the founder, Gakii Mugendi. The challenges he faced as a smallholder coffee farmer in rural Kenya inspired the establishment of this project. Tapping into his resourcefulness, knowledge, and passion for coffee farming, Iburu grew from one farmer as others joined in. Sadly, he passed on after a short illness in August 2019. His family continues to take care of the coffee and project.
Makuri
450 planted trees
His farm lies right at the edge of the Mount Kenya forest. He often tells of the rain-forest, once much greener with its beauty. Although he inherited some coffee from his parents, Miriti planted most of it. He's lived through the price crises but retains most of his coffee bushes. When asked why, he says, that coffee farming has been a big part of his life. Miriti was the second farmer to join Iburu in its early stage.
Makuri
25 planted trees
Meet our youngest and vibrant farmer, Mutuma. He's an automotive engineer student who typically shares his time between school and farming. One of his farm crops is coffee, which he inherited from his parents. Despite the challenges associated with the coffee sector, he remains optimistic that he'll access better market opportunities and returns for his produce.
Girira
Iburu
Makuri
300 planted trees
Iburu
Mburia is a passionate farmer. He planted his coffee in 1958 as one of its early adopters in our village. The returns offered to the farmers were good, and access to the extension services from the cooperative. In addition, they got subsidized farm inputs and access to financial credit to cater to school fees, hospital bills, etc. He says farming coffee used good business! However, after the crisis and decline in coffee prices in the 80s, most farmers uprooted their coffee. Nevertheless, he still values coffee farming and hopes that farmers can get decent returns and support.
Kiambugi
Njeri practices mixed farming alongside her small-scale business. The family started as small-scale farmers with an initial 1000 coffee trees and sold through the local cooperative. But with supplementary returns from the business, they expanded into medium-scale coffee farmers. The large quantities let them have a micro mill for value addition, thereby more opportunities to sell. Njeri remains an inspiration to our smallholder farmers in the region as she shares her experience and expertise.
Consistently earn a minimum of 100 Ksh. in addition to premiums per kilogram of cherry. Most farmers make 50 Ksh. on average and as little as 10 Ksh. in some years.
Access to free extension services and subsidized farm inputs to produce high-quality coffee and maintain healthy ecosystems.
Support to cope with mental struggles through psychosocial support and inspire the next generation to attain individual goals in coffee farming.
Inspecting the coffee
Ripe coffee cherry ready to harvest
Collecting the best beans
Nice looking farm
The smile we want to see
Getting lost in nature
Another pure smile
Getting closer to being roasted
Auction 2020
Ready to be graded
Waiting for the results
We work directly with our farmers and provide the necessary support to ensure their well-being and keep them motivated. But, at the same time, they also earn a reliable and consistent income for their hard work.
The coffee is produced in the fertile volcanic soils of Mount Kenya’s highlands, under the native trees we continue to preserve with your help. These trees also mean food and shelter for our birds, a cooler climate, and great-tasting coffees that we all love.
Multiple variants available.
New packaging coming in 2022.
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