Karambi Washing Station

The story

Karambi Washing Station is located in the Nyamasheke district of Rwanda's Western Province and was built in 2016. It was constructed by RWACOF as a facility to process coffee cherries from over 755 smallholder farmers in the surrounding area.

Challenges

The station faces high competition from other nearby washing stations to receive cherry deliveries from local smallholder farmers. Additionally, individual coffee deliveries are often very small, requiring farmers to transport them to the station on foot.

Innovations

The station has implemented specific processing experiments, including anaerobic fermentation, to create unique flavor profiles. Their washed process involves mechanical depulping followed by a specific 8-12 hour fermentation period in concrete tanks.