Limited Edition: Rwanda Gatare Washing Station - Yego Coffee

District: Nyamasheke

Region: Kivu Belt, Nyungwe Edge

Altitude: 1542 - 1857 masl

Coffee Process: Natural

Water Source: Natural Spring

Flavor Notes: Lemon, Chocolate, Strawberry

This coffee comes to us from Yego Coffee and the Gatare Washing Station in Nyamasheke, Rwanda. Most of the farms that grow this coffee are located in areas surrounding Kivu lake near the Nyungwe forest at altitudes of between 1,542 – 1857 meters above sea level. The Gatare Washing Station runs like a business but feels like a family. Only 5 people out of its 25 person permanent staff have worked there for less than a decade. Because of this, Yego Coffee has chosen to source from this location and conduct their research and coffee tasting trials there. Gatare Washing Station was a pioneer in the natural and honey processes which has helped them perfect their practices. They work closely with the farmers in this area to increase their coffee quality and production amounts by helping plant new trees and providing financial and technical support. Due to its farm to cup model, Yego coffee sources with both the farmer and consumer in mind; ensuring that they are paying producers well above market price, while providing high grade specialty coffee to the consumer.

Yego Coffee, based out of Boston, MA was founded in 2019 by Francois Tuyishime. The word “Yego” is the Kinyarwandan word for “yes”. This word has special meaning for Francois and serves as a symbol of positivity and affirmation in Rwanda. This positivity has helped bring Rwanda and its people out of the darkness that was the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.  Francois was just six years old at the time of the genocide and like many, had to leave his village in western Rwanda in order to survive.

Francois’ family has been in the Rwandan coffee industry for over 40 years. His father used coffee not only as a means of income but as a way to build and support communities; a practice that was instilled in Francois through watching his father work alongside coffee farmers when he was young. Because of the teachings he learned from his father, a portion of the profits of Yego Coffee goes directly to providing lunches and covering school fees in coffee growing communities in southern and western provinces of Rwanda. A cup of this coffee is not only delicious, it also directly supports these rural farmers.

From Darkness to Light: How Yego Coffee Epitomizes Hope

Erupting out of the darkest era in history is a man with dignity and steadfast commitment to seeing tragedy bow down to goodness. Bolstered with confidence and pride, Francois Tuyishime walked into Snowy Owl coffee shop with one goal in mind— to get his family’s coffee onto our shelves. Over the course of the next few moments, we were presented with a vulnerable story of unyielding joy, courage, and strife.

In 1994, the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi people began. Francois and his family were under direct attack, living in a world of impalpable fear. Within one hundred days more than one million people were murdered and the homes of hundreds of thousands of people were defiled. Incomprehensible trauma swept over the Tutsi people in all of Rwanda, casting a blanket of grief, horror, and tragedy. At six years old Francois became a survivor of the Genocide.

While darkness and despair were consuming, the Tutsi people stood together with dignity. Yego, the word from Kinyarwanda meaning yes, became an anthem of hope, healing, affirmation, and positivity. The aftermath of the genocide still permeates the region but with a mindset transfixed on positivity, hope is being restored.

For over four decades, the Tuyishime family has harvested coffee. Coffee is the nation’s second leading source of income, and has provided a sustainable channel of security for Francois’s family. Fertile soil in Rwanda is highly competitive to acquire given the high population density, the abundance of crops being grown, and the nation being approximately the size of Massachusetts. After the area was ravaged, the Tuyishime family had to begin again from nothing. But coffee production is more than acquiring a sustainable income, it is a financial tool allowing the Tuyishime family to support and build up the local Rwandan communities.

Growing up, Francois’s father played a significant role mentoring Francois about coffee, business, and life. His father’s impact has set the trajectory of Yego Coffee by instilling in Francois the importance of recognizing that the coffee industry is more than creating profits. Francois went on to study at The National University of Rwanda where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and then pursued his Masters in Conflict Resolution from Brandeis University. The unique background of being immersed in coffee production partnered with educational achievements allows for Francois to actively participate in establishing long lasting and ethical relationships between New England coffee shops and the farmers in Rwanda.

Through our partnership, we are supporting Yego Coffee’s mission of supporting the Rwandan farmers. Currently, Francois operates two initiatives, Coffee Meals and Smile Girl. Coffee Meals provides school lunches for students attending the Busanze Primary School and Smile Girls provides sanitary pads for girls attending Busanze High School. Food insecurity and limited access to feminine menstrual products are two big needs in some of the Rwandan households. Currently these initiatives are directly providing for these specific needs, but Francois’s ultimate goal is to obtain relationships with roasters at competitive and equitable prices so the farmers are able to directly support all of their family’s expenses. Within ten years, it is Francois goal for every farmer to be financially empowered. We are proudly roasting Yego Coffee in our shops and excited to continue building our relationship with Francois.