Story
Meet the women of the Kibosho drying cooperative
Forty women run the drying beds that turn our cherries into parchment. They also keep the books.
The Kibosho drying cooperative began in 2019 with twelve members and a borrowed set of drying beds. Today forty women manage three drying sites for us, turning freshly washed coffee into parchment ready for hulling.
Skilled, careful work
Drying is where good coffee is easily spoiled. Too fast and the beans crack; too slow and they taste of mould. The cooperative’s members turn the beans by hand through the day, cover them before the afternoon rain and test their moisture before anything leaves the beds.
Owning the numbers
The cooperative is paid per kilo of parchment that meets our grade, and the members decide together how to use their earnings. Part goes to school fees, part to a savings fund that has already financed two new sets of drying beds.
“Since we started, our daughters keep the books. They know every kilo that comes in and goes out.” — Neema Massawe, cooperative chair
