KOAKAKA - Koperative Y'abahinzi ba Kawa ba Karaba

vKOAKAKA (Koperative y'abahinzi ba kawa ba Karaba) is a small coffee producer group located in the Karaba district of Rwanda. Rwanda is a small, landlocked, high-altitude country two degrees south of Equator. It is Africa's most overpopulated country and a large percentage of the population is poor and lives in rural areas. Ninety percent of Rwandans are engaged in subsistence agriculture to earn a living and provide food for their families. As a country, Rwanda has relatively few natural resources and minimal industry to provide economic opportunities for its citizens. KOAKAKA was established as a cooperative in 2003 with the main purpose of stabilizing coffee prices farmers of the cooperative receive. Coffee is the major cash crop for residents of the Karaba district. Proceeds from coffee production provide economic opportunity and strengthening social cohesion which had been badly shaken after the infamous 1994 Rwandan genocide. The cooperative was founded with 772 members, and today has grown to over 2,034 participating families.