Sustainable coffee in Burundi

Since 2013, the foundation's ambition is to strengthen local communities in Burundi by investing in coffee production so that they can improve their living conditions according to their own priorities: to support initiatives that aim to produce high-quality, sustainable and ethical coffee, and to enable small producers to reward the benefits of their work and restore their dignity. 

Through the capital of the Carlier Fund, the foundation provides a guarantee for the local bank credit needed to pre-finance the coffee campaign of COCOCA, the first private union of coffee growers' cooperatives in Burundi.

This backing is complementary to other direct and indirect support to COCOCA and its members via grants and a solidarity loan. The KBF ensures that, whenever necessary, it brings together the Belgian stakeholders in order to improve the coordination of our various interventions with COCOCA, namely Broederlijk Delen, Collibri Foundation, Efico Foundation, DGD, Enabel-TDC and Kampani. Finally, it entrusted a consultancy mission to Deogratias Niyonkuru as a permanent advisor to the coffee farmers' movement.

In 2018, the KBF also supported research led by the Botanical Garden of Meise. This study, in collaboration with local stakeholders, aims to assess the potential and valorise an endemic coffee tree species from Kivu to contribute to the conservation of high altitude forests and coffee farming in DR Congo and the region.