Enterprise

Farmers break new ground in setting up own coffee house

coffee

Barichu coffee house in Karatina town. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI

Farmers who grow coffee have traditionally not been the biggest consumers; for them, the cash crop is a means to a financial end and not necessarily a beverage of choice.

The cash crop was virtually meant for exports and Karatina Factory farmers had not predicted the success of their own coffee house.

One coffee society in Karatina is, however, debunking this culture.

Barichu Coffee Society, which is an aggregation of Karatina, Gatomboya, Gaturiri and Karindundu factories, has now opened its coffee house where the serve the drink.

“This is the first coffee house owned by a factory in Nyeri. Our aim is to train farmers to drink their own coffee even as we increase consumption of the same locally,” Wachira Mwago, the cooperative’s chairman, said in an interview.

Construction of Barichu Coffee House started in 2013 at a cost of Sh2 million which was contributed by the society’s member famers.

The coffee shop started operating fully early last year. Initially, Mr Mwago says, a 50 kilogramme bag lasted them six months, a consumption rate which is well below that of coffee houses located in cities and towns.

Consumption has picked up and now the coffee shop uses at least four 50kg bags every six months as its client base grows.

“In a day, can make between Sh3,000 to Sh4,000. A cup of coffee costs between Sh30 to Sh50,” said Mr Mwago.

Kenya’s coffee sector has been facing a myriad of challenges, including inadequate value addition, high cost of production, negative climate change impacts, inadequate affordable credit as well as poor infrastructure.

At some point, coffee farmers were prohibited from harvesting and roasting beans for local consumption as government sought to guarantee the flow of foreign exchange.

“We are happy about the liberalisation of coffee because we are reaping more from the relaxation of the ‘ban’,” said Mr Mwago.

He said that while 50kg bag of coffee may fetch Sh60,000 at the market, the same amount of can bring in over Sh100,000 after value addition.

Barichu has been making high returns for its members through the direct sale of coffee to the international market as opposed to the auction in Nairobi.

They are now seeking to make even more through the shop, including packaging their own coffee for supply to supermarkets chains and coffee houses.

The society is seeking approval from the Kenya Bureau of Standards to venture into the mainstream market. “After Kebs, we shall finally take off.”