Mugaya Coffee Factory is near to the town of Kagumo in the Kirinyaga District of Kenya’s Central Province.

It was established in 1975 and it currently serves 924 active members, owning an average of 200 trees each. The main varieties of coffee grown here is SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11 and batian.

The region’s main crop season runs from October to December, followed by a smaller season from March to May.

Grevillea, Macadamia, avocado trees and Moringa are used as shade trees for the coffee. Maize, beans, potatoes and yams are also produced in the area.

Location

Mugaya Coffee Factory, towering at 1570m above sea level, is covered with red-volcanic soil at a temperature of 12-26°C. It also receives annual rainfall of 1,100mm which explains its lush topography and voluminous coffee production.

Process

After picking, ripe cherry is brought to the factory by smallholder farmers, before it undergoes processing to remove the skin and pulp – known as the wet processing method.

The factory is using a disc pulper to remove the skin and fruit from the inner parchment layer that is protecting the green coffee bean. The factory is receiving assistance from our field partner Coffee Management Services (CMS).

The long term goal is to increase coffee production through farmer training, ready access to inputs, Good Agricultural Practice seminars, and providing the most current printed materials on sustainable farming.