Izuba Washing Station
 
Region: Runinya, Kayanza Province
Country: Burundi
Altitude: 1500 - 1700 MASL
Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: Water Pillow Anoxic Washed 
 
Processing Method Explained: 
 
Anoxic Water Pillow Washed Once cherries are received, they are hand-picked and floated to ensure only those of the best quality continue to the processing stage. These cherries are placed into a deep cleaned fermentation tank, which is hermetically sealed. Fresh cool water is then poured on top of sealed coffee.
The seal created by the water pressing onto the sheeting creates a vacuum effect on the coffee below, creating an anoxic environment for fermentation to begin, which lasts for between 48 and 72 hours.
The water and sheet act as not only a sealant, but a heat exchange, allowing the heat build up to transfer to the water, which evaporates away. A stabilised temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius ensures that the cherry doesn’t over ferment.
This temperature is regularly monitored, and if it falls too low for fermentation to continue, hot water is added to the water pillow, to provide warmth to the fermenting coffee underneath.
 
 
Context
 
Izuba meaning “sun” in Kirundi, is located in Runinya, Kabarore Commune, of Kayanza Province. The Izuba washing station is set close to a nearby river, providing a vital and regular freshwater source for coffee processing. The station is managed by Ntama Appolinaire, who works alongside Prosper Merrimee, the operational manager of RM Burundi.
 
Izuba employs 2 full-time staff and around 250 seasonal workers, who are all local to the station. Izuba is situated near to the Kibira national park, where the soil and climate are paired well for fantastic coffee production.
 
Kigeri, Ryamukona, and Mugoyi …
 
are the three hills (collines) surrounding Izuba and the three areas in which coffee is collected or delivered from.
Each volume of cherry sold to Izuba is recorded by producer and hillside, showing the minute variances in profile from locations surrounding the washing station. In 2020 we bought coffee from 1482 producers, 1169 of which were male and 313 female (around 26%). We processed 453,000kg of cherry, the max capacity of the station is 800,000kg.
 
Payment
 
The station aims to provide premiums where possible to not only the farmers but the station staff also.
 
The employees were paid 25% higher than other local washing stations and 33% more than the national average salary. Producers are paid government-set prices for coffee cherries, in 2020 these were: Cherry A (ripe) 550 BIF/kg Cherry B (underripe, floaters etc) 275 BIF/KG Producers are paid for cherry on two set payment dates in the year, which are also set by the government. The first is usually in April, very early in the harvest, and the second at the end of the harvest. Farmers essentially choose which station they will sell to that year through the first payment then deliver there for the whole season. At the end of the season third payments are made based on the quality and final sale price of the coffee. Making these three payments on time is a key concern for producers and one of Izuba's primary goals in supporting producers.