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This is Benjamin. We met Benjamin along the side of a dirt road in Musema. He was picking coffee cherries from his trees, and our kids were climbing over a fallen tree nearby with some local kids. We had a minute, so we asked Benjamin a little bit about his life. Here’s what he had to say.
Station: Benjamin delivers his coffee cherries to Musema washing station.
Family Status: Married, with one wife. He has five daughters, who all married coffee farmers. He’s very proud of that.
Trees: Benjamin has 1200 coffee trees. That makes him a very successful farmer by Burundi’s standards.
Last seasons crop: Last year Benjamin produced more than a ton of coffee and got 630 Burundi Francs per kilo ($.50 per kilo). That means Benjamin made about $500.00 last year. He also got a end of season bonus, along with other farmers from the station, from Bean There Coffee for producing such great coffee.
This seasons crop: This year Benjamin is producing less coffee. Most farmers are producing more. He doesn’t know why this is. He thinks his trees will yield about 500-700 kilos of coffee cherry this year. Because the NYC price has dropped, Benjamin will only make 465 Burundi Francs per kilo this year ($.33 kilo). At best, Benjamin will make about $230.00 this year.
Love,
The Long Miles Team
(err… that’s just us)
by longmilescoffee
Bilbo - I really enjoyed this post! It was lovely to hear more about the farmer and to feel his passion and love for his coffee through your post. Nicely written- as always. Thank you!!! Love Bilbo xxx
longmilescoffee - Thanks Grandbaba
longmilescoffee - Katrina. I know what you mean… it is sad… but that’s why we’re here… not that we’re saving the world or anything… just trying to help where we can!
Katrina - Wow. I’ve also followed your blog for a while now. Thank you for sharing his story. It makes me feel sad. But thank you for sharing.
Grandbaba - The family read the story by the fire thanks for sharing.
Jenna Heysters - Hi! I’ve followed your blog for awhile now and I love that you’ve featured a farmer story!! And it turns out he sold his beans to a Fairtrade organization! I work for a Fairtrade partner in the Netherlands. I’d love to hear more about Fairtrade in Burundi and whether the farmers know a lot about this or not. Do you and coffee guy run across that a lot?