Ngurueri was built in late 1968 and lies 1760m above sea level on the expansive slopes of Mt Kenya region. Ngurueri now has almost 1,500 smallholder farmers and is one of four washing stations that form the Murue Farmer’s Cooperative Society among Kavuturi, Gituara, and Kianyangi. It is located in a strategic position within the main coffee growing zone.
Ngurueri Factory is situated in the most picturesque landscape overviewing the valley where Mount Kenya National Park begins in Embu County. It’s about 18 kilometers from the mountain itself. At 140 km north of Nairobi, you will find the factory sandwiched between the elegant Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare ranges, putting it at a vantage point of better production. The area is dressed with red-volcanic soil that infuses it with all the mineral and organic goodness necessary for optimum production. It experiences an annual rainfall of 1,100mm at 1,760m above sea level. In addition, it enjoys cool temperatures of 12-26°C.
PROCESSING
Accordingly, processing at the Ngurueri Wet Mill adheres to stringent quality-driven methods. All coffee cherries are handpicked and delivered to the mill the same day, where they undergo meticulous sorting. Factory employees oversee the process and any under-ripe or damaged cherries will not be accepted by the ‘Cherry Clerk’ – one of the most important harvest-period staff, who keeps meticulous records of how much coffee each producer delivers on any given day (and thus how much payment is due once the coffee has sold).
After being weighed and logged, the weight of the delivery and the farmer’s identification are recorded in the Cherry Clerk’s register and the cherries are introduced into the hopper to be pulped. Pulping will only begin when a sufficient quantity of cherries has been received.
After pulping the cherries are delivered to one of the factory’s fermentation tanks, where they will ferment for between 12 to 48 hours depending on the ambient temperature at the time. After this, the coffee is fully washed to remove all traces of mucilage, during which time it will be graded. The coffee will then either be delivered to dry on the factory’s raised drying beds or will be soaked under circulating water for up to 24 hours, depending on if there is room on the factory’s beds (during the peak of the season, there is often a backlog). The coffee will dry here slowly over the course of 2 to 3 weeks, during which time it will be turned regularly and covered during the hottest part of the day.
Coffee farming in Embu goes back far into Kenya’s colonial past, but many members of the Cooperative still rely on additional economic and agricultural activities for their livelihoods. In addition to producing coffee, most farmers in the area also grow tea, maize, and legumes for sale at local markets and for their own tables.
Some of the issues that farmers face are low production due to pests and diseases and the relatively high cost of inputs compared to income from coffee. Many cannot afford to plant disease-resistant varieties and face being priced out of the market as their yields diminish. The cooperative has undertaken actions to increase yields and improve its members' livelihoods. By paying the producers some of the highest returns for their coffee this objective can be achieved.
