Kahawatu Foundation
The Kahawatu Foundation aims at sustainably impacting the lives of 400,000 growers in East Africa by 2025, while continuously improving environmental standards. The Kahawatu Foundation promotes proud and resilient rural communities, improved farm economics for smallholders, as well as sustainably managed landscapes. In addition, the Foundation works towards achieving environmentally and socially compliant supply chains and working conditions through socially approved community programmes.
Donors/Partners
The Kahawatu Foundation is partnering with Sucafina, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the International Trade Center (ITC), Nestlé/Zoegas, Illy Caffè, the Lavazza Foundation and the Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria (ICU).
Key activities
The Kahawatu Foundation’s activities focus on enabling smallholder coffee farmers, both men and women, to increase productivity and optimize income via improved technical skills, access to agricultural inputs and to markets. They enforce a holistic approach which empower the entire household and protects soils, water and ecosystems. They do organise monitoring, evaluation and learning activities. They do also deliver trainings and capacity building programmes. The Kahawatu Foundation supports coffee households through empowerment and improvement of the resilience of the farmers, productivity and of coffee quality. The programmes are not generic in design; they are based on the needs and conditions of the location where they are implemented. The Foundation also encourage better farm management practices, sustainable farming practices and climate resilience.
Signature projects/tools
- Burundi Coffee Alliance (BCA)
- Sustainable Development Initiative in the Rwanda Coffee Supply Chain
- Building a Stronger Coffee Value Chain, Rwanda
- Kalungu Cherries Project, Uganda
Priority Countries and corresponding areas of activities
Burundi: Good Agricultural Practices – Access to inputs – Climate change – Standards/Certification – Farmer organisation management – Producer country policy
Ethiopia: Good Agricultural Practices – Access to inputs – Climate change – Standards/Certification – Farmer organisation management – Producer country policy
Kenya: Good Agricultural Practices – Access to inputs – Climate change – Standards/Certification – Farmer organisation management – Producer country policy
Rwanda: Good Agricultural Practices – Access to inputs – Climate change – Standards/Certification – Farmer organisation management – Producer country policy
Uganda: Good Agricultural Practices – Access to inputs – Climate change – Standards/Certification – Farmer organisation management – Producer country policy