Rising through the Beans: Susan’s journey in coffee farming

Susan’s life has always been deeply connected to coffee. From her early days, coffee has been a cornerstone of her life, providing sustenance, education, and a sense of purpose. Raised by parents who were coffee farmers, Susan and her siblings benefitted from the income their parents generated through coffee cultivation, which enabled them to attend school. Inspired by her upbringing, Susan learned the art of coffee cultivation from her parents and aspired to pursue it as a full-time career. 

“In my family, coffee was more than just a crop; it was our lifeline.” 

In 2004, Susan’s dream of owning coffee trees became a reality when she inherited 250 coffee trees from her father-in-law, marking the beginning of her journey as a coffee farmer. “As soon as I inherited those trees, I knew I had to continue my parents’ legacy.” With her newfound assets, she registered as a member of the Kaliluni factory. 

As a shareholder of the cooperative, Susan’s passion for coffee farming was evident in her active participation. She diligently attended meetings and engaged in various cooperative activities. Her commitment and dedication did not go unnoticed, and in 2016, she was nominated and elected as the honourable secretary of the cooperative, a significant step in her managerial journey.

Despite the position offering no monetary rewards, Susan, a mother of four, performed her duties with unwavering dedication. Fuelled by her passion for coffee farming, she was determined to improve her skills, grow quality coffee beans, and help her fellow farmers reach their potential. Eventually, Susan’s hard work bore fruit, and in 2018, she became the factory manager and started earning an income.  

That same year, thousands of Kenyan coffee farmers, including Susan, grappled with significant hardships due to declining coffee prices. Many farmers resorted to uprooting their coffee trees to replace them with other crops like avocados due to poor payments, high production costs, and adverse climatic conditions. Faced with payments as low as 40 Ksh per kilo of coffee, many farmers felt disheartened and abandoned coffee farming. However, Susan remained steadfast in her commitment to coffee farming. 

“Even when the prices hit rock bottom, I couldn’t give up. Coffee farming is in my veins, and I held onto the hope that things would turn around.” 

In 2023, Susan achieved a new milestone by becoming the CEO of Kaliluni Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS). Under her visionary leadership, Kaliluni FCS, a wet mill, experienced remarkable growth production, with yield soaring from 248,000 kgs of cherries in 2022 to an impressive 511,000 kgs in 2023, driven by the ARABIKA Project’s support and resources. 

“Thanks to the ARABIKA Project, we have received valuable training and better inputs. This support has been crucial in improving our yields and quality.”

Susan currently has 600 coffee trees in her farm, generating an income of about Ksh.173,000.

Kaliluni FCS’s governance includes nine board members—six men and three women—and employs 29 staff members, ensuring robust management and operational capabilities. 

During a recent ARABIKA project-organized exchange visits to Rungeto Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga County, Susan and 273 other farmers and cooperative representatives gained valuable insights. Among the key takeaways was the crucial role of trust and confidence in leadership for success and growth of cooperatives. 

Susan Vision 

Susan is determined to enhance production levels and ensure the highest quality of coffee among the farmers. Her goal is to increase production from 5kg to an average of 15kg per coffee tree. Currently, most farmers in Kaliluni FCS cultivate SL coffee. However, Susan aims to help them transition towards cultivating Ruiru coffee by December 2024.  

Ruiru coffee is known for its higher yield, disease resistance, and superior quality, making it a promising alternative for improving both productivity and profitability for farmers. By shifting to Ruiru coffee, Susan envisions a sustainable and prosperous future for the coffee farmers of Kaliluni FCS. 

Project Activities 

The ARABIKA Project is transforming coffee farming across seven Kenyan counties, including Machakos. By offering training in sustainable farming techniques, providing better farming inputs, and enhancing market access, the ARABIKA Project is helping restore confidence among coffee farmers, encouraging them to continue coffee farming and to improve their livelihoods. 

ARABIKA has renovated coffee laboratories and introduced Eco-pulper machines to boost processing efficiency. It also trains community-based trainers, quality tasters, and young service providers to support elderly farmers and ensure knowledge transfer. Additionally, the project focuses emphasizes on branding and marketing strategies to elevate the market position of cooperatives like Kaliluni FCS enabling the significant improvements in the coffee sector. 

About the project 

ARABIKA project, a collaborative effort between the Governments of Kenya and Italy, is a three-year project, (July 2021 to December 2024), is funded by The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and implemented by CEFA, AVSI Foundation and E4Impact. The project aims to uplift 30,000 small-scale coffee farmers across 21 coffee cooperatives dispersed among seven counties: Meru, Embu, Nyeri, Murang’a, Machakos, Kiambu, and Bungoma. 

The project’s interventions encompass various components essential for sustainable coffee farming and market access including Climate-smart production practices to mitigate environmental impact, producer cooperative management strategies for efficient governance, quality processing techniques to enhance coffee standards, digitization for streamlined operations, branding efforts to boost market visibility, and local and international marketing initiatives to expand market reach.