As we began to explore Kenya a few years ago, we met a man named Fredrick who managed the Kii Rung'eto Cooperative in Kirinyaga. Fredrick saw that coffee had the ability, in many ways, to improve quality of life for the farmers in his cooperative.
He was passionate about equipping them to save and reinvest their livelihoods, so he opened a bank and created systems for them to get paid quickly and directly. When he noticed that the members were buying cows (a common method for holding wealth in Kenya), he also opened a dairy cooperative. This drastically increased their ability to grow their income, and when we visited last, they had outgrown their initial dairy building and purchased a larger one for further expansion.
Kii has been one of our favorite coffees year after year, producing some of the most tropical notes from this region. It’s a must-try, not only for its vibrant flavors but also for the positive impact it has made on the lives of those who grow it.
