Rwanda is a country transforming before our eyes, and with luck it will succeed in becoming an example of positive, sustainable development for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. GDP continues to rise in Rwanda, helped in no small way by the increased value of the coffee now being produced there. Traditionally, the vast majority of Rwandan coffee was sold to European commercial roasters at below-market prices as a cheap option for blending. The quality was low and the farmers were paid next to nothing for their work.

Fast forward to 2008, and there is a whole new reality. Rwanda is producing some of the cleanest coffee in all of Africa and is a hot new option in the Specialty market, so much so that Roasters are actually fighting with each other to obtain some of these outstanding beans. Producers are getting better prices than many well-known and historically successful Central American farms, and there is a mad scramble to try to cement long-term relationships with some of the cooperatives there.

Bufcafe is a real standout in a country full of incredible stories of reinvention and development progress. Much has been made in the press over the last few years about the way in which Rwanda has remade itself and emerged as a model country for economic progress in East Africa. Buf's growth captures this dynamic and is without question one of the most successful of the washing station projects that have been proliferating in Rwanda since 2002. Epiphanie Mukashyaka is a widow who, with help from PEARL, opened a small coffee washing station (Nyarusiza) outside of Butare back in 2003. Since then she has grown tremendously, more than doubling her volume and building a second station (Remera) nearby to increase capacity. Meanwhile, she has become the most decorated producer in the country, having taken multiple awards in each of the Rwandan quality competitions, including four in the first ever Rwanda Cup of Excellence. Her story is an inspiration and a stunning example of where a little initiative can lead. Someday I hope to see her lead a workshop for other women working in coffee in East Africa, because I'm quite sure she's got a lot to teach.

This season we've also been working with Jean-Marie Irakabaho, a researcher from the SPREAD project, to investigate the impact of various shipping materials on the quality and longevity of the coffee. Back in October we loaded several different lots of coffee into a variety of bag types: traditional jute, GrainPro, polyethylene, and vacuum-sealed foil. Jean-Marie packed the container full of strategically placed data-logging devices so that we would have a minute-by-minute record of the journey that the coffee took on its way from the port to our roasting works. We can track every change in temperature and humidity that occurs during the roughly six weeks the coffee spent traveling between Rwanda and Chicago. The resulting analysis will likely give us better insight into the relative impact of these various approaches to packaging green coffee and allow us to maximize quality preservation while minimizing the environmental impact associated with unnecessary packaging material.

Perhaps the most astonishing fact of this turnaround is that it happened in less than six years. In 2000 the Partnership to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL) Project was initiated with the goal of creating better economic opportunities for farmers in Rwanda. An educational program was created to teach members of the local coffee cooperatives quality protocols for handling coffees post-harvest, and in June of 2004 professional tasters from the US and Europe were brought in to provide cupping training and roasting lessons for young students who would later become the quality specialists for their respective cooperatives.

I have been deeply involved in this process since 2003 and have traveled to Rwanda seven times to teach, taste, and help in the effort to build momentum. Over this period I've developed a relationship with the coffees and the people there that is personal, emotional, incredibly gratifying, and above all, exciting as this is really just the beginning for their new industry. Already, over 20,000 farmers have more than doubled their annual income. There are nearly 30 new washing stations in operation throughout the country, and the country's goal is now to have 100 stations by 2010.

We are continuing to support the development process through direct training and contribution, in recognition of the reality that all of this is still pretty fragile. The success that Rwandan farmers and have experienced over the last two years has been invigorating and exciting, but much remains to be done before the long term stability of the local industry is assured. This year we are funding an effort to teach coffee growers to roast, grind, prepare and enjoy coffees at home. Taking inspiration from the Ethiopian tradition, the program is meant to help farmers learn to take pride in their coffees and develop an appreciation for the beauty of coffee as a beverage. By doing so they can gain a real understanding of what quality means in coffee and become better at what they do. And by encouraging a consuming culture there, we also hope to inspire Rwandans to develop markets domestically, which should help to generate even more local economic benefit from coffee in the future.

We chose to name this coffee Zirikana (a Kinyarwandan word meaning "show your commitment") because that's what this whole coffee gig is about. A lot of the origin investments aimed at improving quality have been made on faith in the hope that they will lead to better coffees and higher prices. The time is now to show producers that coffee farming can indeed be a sustainable and profitable endeavor and that the market will reward quality with real premiums, not just words... and it works both ways. We ask that the farmers show a continuing commitment towards advancing cup quality and preserving the natural environment. When these sorts of two-way commitments are forged and maintained, the future begins to look a lot brighter for everyone!