Our first year working with Long Miles’ new project in Kenya.

KENYA

The Long Miles Project in Kenya

We have been looking forward to this new project from our long term partners at Long Miles for some time. We’ve been working together with the Long Miles team since 2014, and during this time they have made great strides in Burundian coffee; bringing vibrant and varying lots of coffee to roasters and consumers, while also bringing a sense of stability and prosperity to large groups of farmers in rural northern Burundi.

They now aim to create a similarly fair and equitable system in Kenya. Although a much more established and stable coffee origin, there are still several challenges facing producers here. The dominant cooperative structure here leads to a power dynamic in which producers end up into long term agreements with regard to things like payment and fertiliser use. Often these agreements can be mutually beneficial, but we have heard of some instances of questionable practices. For example, as a farmer who can only harvest and therefore sell coffee once per year, it’s often necessary to ask for an advance from the cooperative in order to keep food on the table. These advances are often available, but involve locking in the entirety of the next harvest with the cooperative at a rate far below the market price, as a type of interest. Cooperatives who aim to produce large amounts of high value ‘AA’ lots, consisting of very large beans, push small producers to use a great deal of chemical fertiliser on their farms, often in collaboration with fertiliser companies. This high level of fertiliser usage, while leading to the required large bean size, is a threat to groundwater supplies and a direct threat to producer’s health.

Soft stewed fruits drive the cup, with a gentle body like fruit poaching liquid.

KENYA

Chinga

This lot is from the Chinga station in Nyeri, our second lot of the season from the Othaya cooperative. This year they have struggled with lower yields than normal, and an ageing farmer population means the future of their cooperative looks rather unstable. Attracting younger farmers through more sustainable business conditions and more involvement in the supply chain is also part of Long Miles’ aims for the future. Lack of space on drying tables during the peak harvest season was also an issue, so they have invested in larger tables for next year. Like many Kenyan lots from this region, the coffee that makes up this lot has been grown in fertile volcanic soil, rich in natural phosphorous, leading to both high quality and yield. This washed lot is over 90% SL28 and SL34, also leading to high quality in the cup due to the lack of rust resistant Robusta hybrids. This varietal make up, alongside the rich soil conditions and careful processing, lead to a soft and rich Kenyan profile, with stewed fruit, and a body reminiscent of fruit poaching liquid.