Epoch 9 - Burundi Businde Natural

Businde is a coffee washing station in the Kayanza District of Burundi. It has been in operation for over 10 years and has won the Cup of Excellence. 

Unlike other washing stations, Businde has its own plot of up-and-coming coffee plants. It's more common for smallholder farmers to sell their coffee cherries to washing stations in Burundi, and the greater East Africa area. So, we're very excited about this upcoming project. The coffee here is sweet, well processed and the facilities are incredibly clean. We have wonderful photographs of Businde CWS.

Something unique about Businde CWS is that it is located in an area where a Twa community lives. This is extremely rare, as it is the least populated of the ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi, after the Hutu and Tutsi’s. The Twa community are some of the poorest and most segregated groups when it comes to wealth inequality amongst ethnic groups. Businde CWS is located in the northern province of Kayanza, close to the Rwandan border, and employs many members of this nearby Twa community. *Note: in Rwanda, it is no longer socially acceptable to reference the ethnic grouping of Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Though, in Burundi, this is still widely acknowledged.

This is a station with a wide reach to local coffee farmers, processing the cherry of 650 local farming families. As a washing station, it is important to consider the payment of workers who process the cherry, as well as the price received by those who cultivated them. Businde’s producers have received a premium 20% above the local market rate this season. As a station, Businde pays its staff almost 60% above the rate for casual labor in Burundi.

To assist with the dispersing of coffee pulp, Matraco distributes this compost as fertilizer to help the farmers nearby. Along with this, they assist with the yields of local farmers by donating seedlings to their farms. Businde also has over 1000 of their own trees planted and harvested around the land at their station.

Natural coffees are floated and then taken to dry for up to 32 days on raised beds. While drying, they're constantly monitored and moved to ensure clean and uniform drying of the cherry.