KENYA

NDAIRONI AA

PINEAPPLE, TAMARIND, MELON, RUBY RED GRAPEFRUIT

BEAN DETAILS:

ORIGIN: Gatundu, Nyeri, Kenya
PRODUCER: Various smallholder producers
ELEVATION: 1600 masl
VARIETY: SL 28
PROCESS: Washed / 13-15 hours process in fermentation tanks / Dried on African beds for 13-14 days
TASTING NOTES: Pineapple, tamarind, honey drizzled melon, and ruby red grapefruit.
ROAST TYPE: Light

Farm Level

Ndaroini factory was built in 1984 and is owned by smallholder coffee growers in Gatundu subregion. It has an active membership of 685 members, and 795 total registered members. Farmers delivering coffee to this factory have a combined acreage of over 300 acres and a population of 170,150 coffee trees.

Located on the foothills of Mount Kenya, the area has deep red volcanic soil with abundant nutrients and nutrient retention fed by excellent water from Mount Kenya's snowcapped peak. This growing area is relatively cool and receives medium precipitation, optimal for coffee production.

Ndaroini farms have 2 harvest seasons:
1. Late crop: Late October to mid-January (contributes about 70% of total annual production)
2. Early crop: March to June (contributes about 30%)

Farmers deliver coffee same-day to the washing station to prevent opportunities for mold growth. The cherry is weighed, recorded, and pulped right away. On the drying tables, parchment is turned continuously to protect it from hot temperatures. After drying, parchment is stored in the conditioning bins before it moves on to the mill for parchment removal.

To conserve clean water, the water used for pulping is obtained from the Ruvai-Thanga River through channels. During processing, the water is recycled as much as possible to reduce waste and disposed of in soak pits away from any water source.

To maintain production and quality standards, farmers are kept up to date on agronomic best practices through frequent farmer field visits by field supervisory committees. These committees also work through the Coffee Research Foundation to provide seedlings from their nursery, which they propagate using certified seeds from the foundation. They also encourage farmers to plant shade trees and avoid intercropping with the wrong plants to achieve higher production. They have a demonstration plot at the factory for farmer training.

To get to Gatundu, we first have to fly to Nairobi, and then travel via paved road for 2 hours. The coffee farms are very close to the washing station (20 minutes maximum), so farmers usually transport their coffee on motorbikes. Sometimes, the washing station hires a truck to go from farm to farm and collect coffee instead.

Due to the proximity of this area to Mount Kenya, abundant native wildlife is found within this region. Some of the species here include snakes, deer, hare, weaverbird, owl, and hawks. Numerous indigenous plant species like Neem trees grow here too.

The predominant population are the Kikuyu, the oldest native population in the area, which contains several tribes. Most people marry within their tribe. Everyone in the area speaks Kikuyu but the communities have small dialect differences.

The farms here are mostly very small (1-2 hectares) and adults work the farms while children attend school all day. Schools here cost money, which unfortunately limits access to education and future opportunities in this mostly-poor area. Due to lack of opportunity, much of the young population is migrating en masse to cities in search of better jobs, leaving their parents alone on the farms or even taking their parents and abandoning their farms. This problem gets worse each year. But some producers remain hopeful that coffee can provide good business opportunities for their children.