Kii

WASHING STATION Kii Coffee Factory

The Kii factory is operated by the Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society (F.C.S.) and serves about 1,215 active farmer members. Farmers in this region began planting coffee in 1953, and the average farmer has about 400 coffee trees on an area of about one-third of a hectare. The cooperative society operates three mills—Kii, Karimikui, and Kiangoi—and is managed by an elected board of seven members, two from each factory catchment. The co-op has 25 permanent staff members, overseen by a secretary-manager. The co-op is partnered with the marketing agent, Sustainable Management Services Limited, and is implementing a coffee-quality improvement project with the intention of raising both cup quality and yield.

Members deliver cherry to the factory as soon as it is picked. The coffee is depulped after sorting and separating, then fermented (typically overnight) before being washed with fresh river water and dried in full sun.