Partnership with Sustainable Growers
Sustainable Growers is now home of the Relationship Coffee Institute and Question Coffee. Since its inception, these programs have supported the national economic development goals of Congo and Rwanda, and will in Tanzania beginning in 2021. These training centers work with women farmers to cultivate sustainable agriculture techniques to improve the quality and increase the production of coffee.
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With increased quality, coffee produced by these women is served at hotels across Rwanda, including Serena Hotels, Park Inn by Radisson Kigali, and the Kigali Marriott. It is also available on RwandAir, is served in Bloomberg L.P. offices around the world, and is sold online. The Question Coffee Café & Training Center in Kigali, operated by women, received the 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award from Tripadvisor, placing it in the top 10 percent of listings.
In 2021, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sustainable Growers will be featured at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda and Expo 2020 World’s Fair in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The program has been recognized as a model that can be adapted or replicated for global impact for the economic development of women and their families, advancing four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Top photo: Before Bloomberg Philanthropies’ investment in training, women would pick cherries off the coffee tree that were not high quality. Less than 2% of their crop could be sold. Once they learned the “Color of Excellence”, worn on a vest or as a bracelet, the quality of their coffee increased by 40%, resulting in a higher yield price on the international market.