where seeds are spread
When Rebecca returned to her mother’s land in 2011 and started interviewing farmers in the Kilimanjaro area, she sought to listen to and understand their real needs, struggles, and challenges. In this area, her family had been growing coffee for generations. She understood most farmers struggled to stay afloat after the global coffee price plummeted in the 90s, and Rebecca was seeking ways to help farmers earn more through their coffee. She especially wanted to create long-term benefits for coffee growers by creating a solid network of small, democratic, and independent cooperatives, organisations, and individuals committed to growing the best coffee in the best possible way.
Rebeca and her team at Wanza quickly noticed that the community was eager to make a change, so the conversations gradually transformed into a community-led initiative to improve coffee quality and quantity and find buyers willing to pay better prices.
For us, it’s a true honour to be part of this initiative, working with the Wanza team and Marangu farmers to create small, solid, and fully democratic organisations in the area!
CULTIVARS:
Arabica Bourbon (Jackson, Mbirizi) and Kent
ALTITUDE:
1,400 - 1,800 meters above sea level
NOTABLE:
local organic certification (since 2016) by the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), shade-grown, farmer owned and farmer-run cooperative, actively seeks participation of women in coop activities.
PROCESSING:
Double wet fermentation: Cherries are depulped using simple hand-pulpers and strictly washed the same day they are picked. They are then double wet-fermented (2x 18 hours), shade dried, and then sun dried on raised beds.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
2017: first bags of Marangu imported, three in total. Contained sizeable amount of defects but nevertheless had great results in the cup.
2018-2020: no coffee from Marangu for This Side Up, the group organisation was not up to par and could not provide our coffee.
2021: Marangu coffee back on our menu, marketed for the first time by a buyer as coffee specifically from this group.
2022: Largest import of Marangu coffee ever.
TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :
Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.
PHOTO GALLERY
You may use these images freely to promote Aranga among your customers.
coffee in the Kilimanjaro area
Coffee was first planted in Kilimanjaro in the late 1800s as a cash crop and by the early 1900s, it was becoming the major engine of development. Small farmers’ cooperatives built schools, clinics, roads, and other infrastructure, and they provided loans and financing to farmers.
However, in the 1990s the global coffee price plummeted, in part due to overproduction in other parts of the world. This was devastating to Kilimanjaro farmers because they had no other alternatives since coffee was their main way to earn income. Many farmers continued to produce coffee, even though the cost of production was higher than their earnings. While the price has recovered somewhat, in 2019-2020 coffee prices are once again extremely low - the lowest they have been in 15 years! Over the last 2 years, Tanzania has seen an increase of 30% in the proportion of farmers living in extreme poverty.
WANZA AND THE Kilimanjaro Farmers
Our connection with Kilimanjaro farmers starts in 2011 when Rebecca Trupin - who comes from a multi-generation Kilimanjaro coffee farming family - began interviewing farmers to identify their needs and opportunities. Rebecca was looking for ways to help farmers like her own family members to improve their earnings from coffee.
The community was eager to make a change in their livelihoods and so Rebecca’s interviews quickly transformed into a community-led initiative to improve coffee quality and quantity and to find buyers willing to pay fair prices.
The initiative trains farmers in best farming and harvesting practices, provide farming inputs such as new coffee seedlings, connects farmer groups to each other for mentoring, and assists the farmers in marketing and exporting their coffee. It also has a particular focus on women farmers, actively recruiting women to join and to hold leadership positions.