The Story of Chania Coffee

Chania Coffee is named after the River Chania in Nyeri, Central Kenya from where the coffee farms, and the pulping stations derives their water from. Chania Arabica Coffee is grown under small scale farming system.The area has a rich drained volcanic mountain soil, with moderate rainfall throughout the year and an Altitude of 5,750 feet above sea level; a good combination for aromatic and flavourfull coffee.

Chania Coffee is the brainchild of Social Enterprenuer Muthoni 'Soni' Schneidewind, who believes that it is Trade & Partnerships and NOT Aid that transforms communities. The farmers spend endless hours in the fields throughout the year yet the renumerations are insignificant.

 

Kenyan born Muthoni Schneidewind along with her siblings was raised and educated with the meagre proceeds from the coffee farming. Upon relocating to Germany where a lot of coffee is imported, she decided to support the community by setting up Chania Coffee and inturn facilitating the farmers realize fair proceeds for their produce.

 

'''Coffee was and is still my community's first priority. My father  walks and dreams coffee!! How Many people have the patience to wait for FOUR years? asks Muthoni Yes, that is how long the coffee tree takes to thrive and yield its first bean! Everyday after school, together with my brother and sister we had to walk the 2 kilometre way down to the river, draw the muddy water to save the coffee bushes in the hot tropical sun! For Four years this is all we did, not to mention my mother's endless trips to the river throughout the day.And then one day, the whole ridge was filled with fragrant white flowers, smell of ripe coffee berries ;the noise of the happy weaver birds; our FIRST coffee harvest was ready''. She continues, 'And then our work begun; picking the ripe coffee cherries in the early morning till late evening, hand-selecting the unripe and destroyed cherries for drying as an inferior quality, our long 3km journey with the coffee sacks on our back to the Pulping station, the endless nights in the que waiting for our turns to weigh and grade our produce, the terrible times after 3-6 months of waiting for the 'payday' only for my father to come home devastated that he had received less than quarter of a dollar for a kilo of coffee; and the cycle began again...

 

''Three decades later, my community is still debased by a poverty that erodes ambition and pride, that sappes a man's spirit and strength and finally makes him surrender. Many of them can hardly afford proper medical care leave alone making ends meet...they toil from dawn to dusk and the proceeds do not even cover the cost of production.'' She sighs with a far away look.