Coffee Boosts Rwandan Recovery
Devastated by the genocide of 1994, Rwanda’s recovery is being supported by Lansing, US-based Paramount, through the development of its coffee industry.
Among the largest coffee roasting businesses in the Midwest region of the US, the company, also a distributor of coffee, donates US$1 for each bag of its Rwanda fair trade coffee purchased by an endowment fund, set up under the programme Michigan State University Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL).
Following the African country’s early 90s genocide, the Institute of International Agriculture at Michigan State University and the US Agency for International Development devised a scheme that joined Rwanda’s flailing coffee growers with Paramount and other such significant members of the world’s coffee industry.
To date, the money raised through the coffee roasting enterprise’s donations have, for example, funded the purchase of a 400-strong herd of goats for the coffee-producing village of Gashonga, which supplies local inhabitants with a source of protein through their milk and cheese, as well as producing fertiliser for the land and reproducing to help increase the herd’s longevity.
Furthermore, Paramount’s donations via the PEARL endowment fund also help a coffee-producing cooperative to meet the annual payments for its Fair Trade maintained status.
Commenting on his company’s support of the Rwandan coffee industry, Angelo Oricchio, Chairman and CEO, said, “Our goal is for Rwandan farmers to learn the coffee business and start walking on their own legs.” Oricchio also added that on visting the country it is clear to see how far every dollar can go in supporting local coffee production.