Magical Beans

Situated on the northwestern tip of Tanzania, between Lake Victoria and the mountains of Rwanda, the green hills of Kagera are peppered with thousands of tiny coffee plantations.

Although the majority of the plots are no larger than half a hectare, these small-holdings are the lifeblood of the region’s economyCoffee is Kagera’s primary export, and the Kagera Co-operative Union (KCU), which comprises some 90,000 independent coffee farmers and 124 village co-operatives, has been working with a number of fair trade organisations since 1988 to ensure that the region’s farmers receive a fair price for their crops. These partnerships have been providing the farmers involved with 50 per cent or higher premiums on their beans. Photographer Jochem Wijnands recently travelled to Kagera to discover how coffee beans are enriching communities all across the region