Kamavindi Estate

The story

Kamavindi Estate was founded in 1958 by John Njiru and Ann Rwamba in Embu, Kenya, initially limited to 100 coffee trees under colonial restrictions. Following the end of these restrictions in the early 1960s, the family expanded the farm significantly. Today, the estate is a third-generation family business managed by Peter Mbature and his family members.

Challenges

The farm historically faced strict colonial-era limitations on the number of coffee trees native farmers were permitted to grow. Additionally, the farm must navigate the complexities of maintaining high-quality production in the fertile but demanding highlands of Mt. Kenya.

Innovations

The estate operates its own private washing station built in 1994 to ensure processing consistency and established the Kamavindi Coffee Lab in 2018 for training. They have also pivoted toward micro-lot production and direct-trade relationships to focus on specialty coffee quality.