KENYA | Thunguri | SL28 & SL34 | Natural

by Proud Mary

Most coffee farmers in Kenya own between 1/8-1/4 of a hectare of land, making it unsustainable to process the coffee themselves – because of this, the vast majority of Kenyan coffees are processed at community mills, or factory’s, operated by local cooperatives. Individual farmers deliver their coffee to the factory on the day of harvest; these deliveries are then blended together into day lots and are then sorted for processing.   Thunguri Factory, situated in Kirinyaga – near the slopes of Mount Kenya, was established in the late 60s, and is part of Rumukia Farmers' Cooperative Society. With roughly 700 members, largely small-scale farmers, who in addition to coffee, grow other cash crops such as tea and macadamia – coupled with subsistence food crops such as maize and bananas.  The farmers of Thunguri are very particular about their agro practices, knowing too well that the price of their coffee is dependent on the collective effort made during the year. This day lot was process