If you ever wondered what get’s IWMF fellows out of bed in the morning, well besides the opportunity to explore Beni and its…


If you ever wondered what get’s IWMF fellows out of bed in the morning,
well besides the opportunity to explore Beni and its surroundings, a
steaming espresso is part of the secret.

Relatively small at the moment, Kivu coffee teaches small-scale farmers to
properly grow and harvest cash crops such as coffee and cacao. Last year
it’s estimated that the DRC exported around 8,000 tonnes of coffee and
10,000 tonnes of cocoa. Cross-border smuggling in search of better prices
means that production is probably higher and there is potential for
increased domestic production and export.

In the 70s, before conflict and lowered prices drove down production, the
DRC was the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer. The climate in Congo is
ideal for coffee production. In the years to come hopefully more farmers
will benefit from growing coffee and cocoa.

Katarina Höije