Kiawamururu

Rumukia Coop

Cooperative

This washing station is owned by small-scale farmers located in Mukurweini, Nyeri County, whose small farms (about 0.2 hectares) are nestled and spread between the Mt. Kenya highlands and the Aberdare Ridge highlands at an impressive altitude ranging from 1,700 to 1,800 meters. It is part of the Rumukia Cooperative Society, together with seven other washing stations/factories. All the coffee is fully washed. Ripe coffee cherries are picked and delivered to the factory, where they are pulped and dry fermented for 24 hours. Afterward, the coffee is washed with clean water from the river and dried on raised beds. The predominant coffee varieties grown are SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian. The farmers practice mixed farming on their small farms, growing coffee as the primary cash crop while also planting food crops such as maize, beans, potatoes, and vegetables for family consumption. They also intercrop coffee with macadamia trees and avocados, which provide shade cover. Approximately 600 active farmers deliver coffee to this washing station. The factory has four permanent employees and employs 10 to 20 casual workers from the neighboring community during the peak harvest season.