Nespresso has revealed a long-term commitment to revive the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) coffee industry, under its Reviving Origins programme, with the launch of the first organic coffee of the range, Kahawa Ya Congo, in the United States.
We are very proud to welcome Congo into our Reviving Origins program and we are committed to providing long term support that will help Congolese coffee farmers, and their communities, to rebuild their coffee industry and their local economies.
Guillaume Le Cunff, Nespresso CEO
In 1980, coffee was the second most important export for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It decreased in the early 2000s due to years of conflict and economic instability that had a devastating impact on the sector with volumes dropping to a tenth of previous volumes.
Kahawa Ya Congo comes from rain-rich volcanic soils along the shore of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The area borders Rwanda and Burundi, both of which are producing high-quality coffee.
According to Nespresso, the area has the potential to be among the world’s prominent coffee regions but has experienced extremely challenging conditions.
As part of its Reviving Origins programme, Nespresso, together with global non-profit TechnoServe, the US Agency for International Development, and coffee trader Virunga Coffee/Olam International – started to realise its AAA Sustainable Quality Programme in the Kivu provinces in 2019.
Through training and technical support, the programme intends to improve coffee productivity and quality, to establish sustainable farming practices and increasing farmer income.
Nespresso’s goal is to improve the number of Congolese farmers participating in the programme from 450 to over 5000 by 2024.
To support the revival of Democratic Republic of Congo’s coffee farming communities and in partnership with the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), Nespresso is investing CHF 1 million (about US$ 1.1 million).
The funds will be used to bring affordable healthcare and access to clean water to communities across South Kivu, contributing to eliminating cholera, a significant health issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Reviving Origins programme was established in 2019. It aims to restore coffee production in regions where it is under threat, bringing back to life some of the “rarest fine coffees for all coffee connoisseurs to discover”.
Overall, Nespresso is investing a total of CHF 10 million (about US$11 million) in the Reviving Origins programme for five years, from 2019 to 2023.
