Kibugu FCS Gikirma Wet Mill

Embu County is situated in the heart of Mt. Kenya, and a veritable Garden of Eden for coffee. This is where the farmers decided to set up shop with the Gikirma Wet Mill, which is part of 1,050 member Kibigu Cooperative. Farmers in this co-op come from Ndunduri, Ngerwe and Gicherori factories and have an average of 1 hectare of land for coffee. These farmers also grow eta, macadamia nuts, bananas and corn to support their families as coffee alone isn’t sufficient.

The Gikirma group has a field committee charged with mobilizing quality. On designated field days farmers receive onsite training customized to their farm. Between this, and an advance payment program, they encourage farmers to stay active in the group and in their fields between each harvest and encourage farmers to continue to grow coffee which would be otherwise fully replaced by other crops to support their living.