Meet Beranadette - A Female Rwandan Coffee Grower

At St Remio, we want to encourage people to think about where their coffee comes from, and the impact that their purchase has on the lives of female coffee farmers at origin. To really understand coffee, we must understand the role we play within it, because our choices can either perpetuate the cycle of poverty or break it.

In our most recent farmer interview, we spoke to a female Rwandan Coffee grower, NTAMWIZA Beranadette to learn about her story and role as coffee grower.

Tell me about yourself. Do you have children? Are you married? What do you enjoy doing?

My name is NTAMWIZA Beranadette, I’m Rwandan and 58 years old, I have 6 children, four girls and 2 boys and a husband. I enjoy growing different Rwandan crops especially coffee, bananas, yams, eggplants and other vegetables.

Tell me about your role in coffee growing and what a day looks like for you.

In daily farming life there are different challenges we face depending on the time of year. One of our biggest struggles is pests and diseases especially in rain periods. The poor road conditions make transportation challenging during the harvest period for our cooperative's production. Despite this, I am pleased to invest in the cooperative because of the benefits it provides.

What made you choose to work in coffee? Did your parents also work in coffee, and if so how long did they do it for?

I decided to become a coffee farmer after I married my husband as he is also a coffee farmer. I also encouraged my siblings to join so now we are family full of coffee farmers.

What is it like to be part of Cocagi femme and how do you support each other?

The support of Cocagi Femme has been beneficial in improving various aspects, such as working in groups, sharing ideas, building associations, and gaining experience in different development methods. Overall, being part of this cooperative has been a great success for women and proves to be highly beneficial. I thank St Remio for facilitating and supporting women’s activities and ideas.

What would you like to see change about the coffee industry?

There are areas in the coffee industry that could be improved, such as reducing production costs relative to the expenses invested in farming and establishing coffee shops closer to the farmers.

What makes Rwandan coffee so special?

I think Rwandan coffee is special, but it would be even more special if farmers receive better training and encouragement, including partnerships with industries. Additionally, having more attentive, trained, and experienced workers during the processing period would enhance the quality.

I invite everyone to visit Rwanda, a beautiful country with good governmental policies, strong security, transparent administration, and significant progress in areas like farming, trading, well-being, and education for all.

Anything else you would like to say?

Now, I want to say to everyone in the world: work hard towards your goals with commitment and teamwork. Never give up, even in the face of failure, and stay focused on what you want to achieve.

By purchasing St Remio Coffee, you are choosing to empower future female coffee farmers like Claire. That’s the impact of your cup of coffee.

Make the change today!