Frederick’s story

Story of change

Frederick’s story

Thanks to training and support from Kahawatu Foundation, Frederick was able to increase his household income through coffee and better meet the needs of his family.

Frederick, 67, is a father of 6 children and owns a plantation of 1,620 trees near Gisha Coffee Washing Station in Ngozi, Burundi. He describes how Kahawatu Foundation’s support has improved his and his family’s livelihoods:

“In the 1990s and 2000s, the cultivation of coffee in our area was almost abandoned, but I did not stop because the income from my coffee helped me to invest in other crops. With Kahawatu’s collaboration, my mindset positively changed and production from my 1,620 coffee trees increased. My average production has increased from 0.987 kg/tree (1.6 tons) in 2013 to 2.20 kg/tree (3.6 tons) in 2018, and 3.08 kg/tree (5.8 tons) in 2022. The quality has increased too.

These improvements allowed me to increase my household income and educate all of my children – boys and girls – and they all follow my example. One of my children, Isaac, planted 300 coffee trees on the land I gave him and took part in good agricultural practice (GAP) training with Kahawatu, as I recommended, to help maintain his plantation (see Isaac’s story). Using his income from the coffee harvest, he was able to buy a cow, invest in a new land where he planted 300 coffee trees, and pay for his own college fees.

Now, my children all have coffee plantations ranging from 100 to 700 coffee trees and coffee has become their main source of income. The cultivation of coffee is the basis of everything that allows me to satisfy the needs of my family.”

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