Nyabibrew

On the 25th November 2020, cafés across the world came together to support the communities of Nyabihu, Rwanda who lost everything in landslides earlier this year.

In May 2020, devastating rains, flooding and heavy mudslides hit the Nyabihu District in northern Rwanda. Nyabihu is home to the families that produce the popular Shyira and Vunga coffees that you may know and love. Communities in Shyira and Vunga have lost loved ones, and their livelihoods.

Physical losses include at least 325 homes (including 38 homes of families that deliver coffee to Vunga or Shyira), livestock, coffee trees and other crops. Vital community and utility infrastructure have also been destroyed including 36 classrooms, 12 churches, a healthcare centre, the Vunga market, and electrical and water supplies. For some of you, this disaster will speak very close to home, having either visited these communities in person, purchased their coffees for your roasteries, or worked with them in your cafes.

For the more than 300 families that deliver coffee to Shyira and Vunga, the direct cost to replace lost crops and buildings has reached USD $132,000. An estimated USD $41,000 was required immediately to help deliver food, water, and clothing to those who have lost their homes.

In addition, much of the land is no longer be suitable for planting - farmers have lost not only their crops and income for the coming season but the assets that they could use to earn future income. This is on top of the impacts of COVID-19 that were already reducing the income of farmers this season.

In Nyabihu, farming families rely on coffee for 65% of their income, with average household incomes being less than USD $700 per annum. While the government is working to the best of its capability to respond in the current economic environment, additional support for farmers is critically needed. To continue helping us with the relief effort, please share the Go Fund Me, and help us by giving whatever you can.

Murakoze