Rwanda Sholi Co-op Anaerobic Natural (Fairtrade)
| Bag Weight | 60 KG BAG |
|---|---|
| Harvest Season | 2025/26 |
| Status | Spot |
| Lot Number | P8003024-1 |
About This Coffee
The Region
The head office and the coffee plantations of Sholi coffee washing station are located at Cyeza Sector, Muhanga District. The region is known for its diverse fruit farming and ancient rocks called Sebwugugu.
The changes in the neighbourhood after the establishment of Sholi cooperative have been miraculous. The process started with a large growth in local population - a lot of people moved away from high-risk zones to a settlement area. Sholi brought a lot of jobs to the community and with them came increased food security, better living conditions and reliable income to pay for health insurance and school fees. As part of their vision to invest in the local community, Sholi the co-operative also built a health centre, a water source and a village hall, all of which can be accessed by the whole community, including non-members.
Everyone at Sholi is treated equally regardless of age, gender, religion or disability. The co-operative offers health insurance and a loan system so members manage cash flow and pay for necessities like school fees.
Rwanda is poetically known as “the land of a thousand hills” and Muhanga district is no exception. With rolling mountains, rich soils and plentiful sunshine, the region boasts an exceptional terroir for arabica cultivation. This mountainous terrain makes mechanisation of harvesting impossible and the transportaion of coffee very challenging. Nevertheless coffee plays a huge role in the growing Rwandan economy and the increased demand for washed specialty arabicas from this small but beautiful country have allowed it to become one of the region’s most highly regarded producers.
The Process
The Sholi Anaerobic Natural Process begins with selecting farmers whose coffee is grown in the high mountains and who maintain good agricultural practices. To keep quality consistent, the washing station sets two fixed days each week to buy, collect, and process cherries specifically for this anaerobic lot. On collection days, only fully ripe, red cherries are accepted; they are carefully sorted and floated, then transported to the washing station so processing can begin within eight hours of harvest.
The sorted cherries are placed into thoroughly cleaned, sealed tanks and held for 72 hours for anaerobic fermentation with the fruit intact. After fermentation, the cherries are spread on drying tables to dry in the sun, with quality control in place from the start to prevent defects and quality damage. During peak sun the coffee is covered with plastic, and at night it is covered with plastic and shade netting. After four days of drying, the coffee is again covered on the tables with shade netting and plastic for 48 hours, then returned to drying under normal sun. Depending on weather, total drying typically takes 40–45 days before the coffee is moved to the warehouse.
- Subregion Cyeza sector, Muhanga District, Southern Province
- Producer Type Washing Station
- Wet Mill Sholi
- Processing Natural/Dry Processed
- Processing Description Anaerobic fermentation Natural
- Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact
- Plant Species Arabica
- Variety Bourbon
- Min Growing Altitude 1800m
- Max Growing Altitude 2000m
- Screen Size 15 Up
- Co-Op Abateraninkunga Ba Sholi
- On Sale No
- Top Lot Yes
- Price Per Kg €11.25
- Status Spot
- Certifications FLO Fairtrade Certified
- Coffee Grade RWA CA NAT SPL SD
- CTRM Contract Number P8003024-1
- Origin Rwanda
- Warehouse Vollers Hamburg