Description

Gishyita – Руанда

And the winner of ‘station with the best view’ goes to: Gishyita. This tiny washing station, located in the Kigarama cell within the Karongi district, lies on the slope of a mountain looking west across Lake Kivu toward the hills of Congo in the distance. Near to the small town of Ngoma, the station was built in 2010 and acted a cooperative and was fully established as a washing station by RTC in 2018. The station employs 6 staff full time with the addition of 80 seasonal workers during the season, 90% of which are women.
Gishyita also has one of the most impressive success stories in regards to yield quality increases over time. 995 local farmers rely on Gishyita for cherry processing. In the first year RTC took ownership of the station, these famers contributed a total of 187 tons of cherry. In the past 4 years, all 995 famers have been trained in yield quality optimisation of their coffee through RTC’s training program. At the time of our visit in late May, annual production was 842 tons, an increase of 350%. Average farm size is 3 hectares with all farms within a 5km distance. Farmers are serviced by 6 collection points and are provided with organic compost which is produced on the station from recycled cherry pulp, with lime and molasses added to make EM2.
Gishyita is also one of the cleanest and well-maintained sites. Unlike other stations whose washing channels are just painted concrete, Gishyita’s washing channels benefit from being covered in porcelain tiles and appear very clean and well maintained.
It’s hard to decide on the most beautiful thing about Gishyita. Despite the view, the cool breeze coming from the lake or the evident quality of the cherry drying on the beds, it is the station manager, Providence, who made the biggest impact on us. A coffee farmer himself, owning an area with around 45,000 trees, much larger than the surrounding farms, Providence seemed to take great pride in providing support and an opportunity for collaboration for the local community of coffee farmers. He seemed almost europhic, expanding with pride when he spoke of the impact the training had provided for the farmers of Gishyita.

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