The Kii Coffee Factory is operated by the Rung'eto Farmers Cooperative Society, and comprises cherry contributions from 1,214 members, who own an average farm size of about 1/3rd a hectare(400 trees).
Timely and selectively hand-picked cherry is delivered to the Kii wet mill the same day it is picked. Cherry sorting is carried out at the wet mill prior to the depulping. The ripe cherry is wet-processed, which utilizes clean river water. Sun drying is done after careful fermentation and washing, before delivery of the parchment coffee to the dry mill for secondary processing.
The annual rainfall in this region is 1500–1900 mm per year. The rains are in two seasons: One short rainy season, and one long rainy season. Early crop receives short rains between October and November; main crop receives substantial rains that come between April and June.
RUNG’ETO FARMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
Historical Background: Farmers in Rung’eto planted their first coffee trees in I953. The co-op has three wet mills: Kii, Karimikui, and Kiangoi. The co-op is located within Ngariama location, Gichugu division, Kirinyaga East district on the Southern slopes of Mount Kenya.
Management & Membership: The co-op is managed by an elected board of seven members, two elected from each factory catchment. Each member represents an electoral zone in the larger Rung’eto sublocation. Currently the co-op has 25 permanent staff members who are headed by a secretary manager. The secretary manager oversees the day-to-day running of the co-op under the supervision of the board.
The three wet mills in the co-op have a combined membership of 2,858 active farmers.
Coffee Production: The co-op is currently producing an average of 1,470,258 kg cherry. The co-op has partnered with its marketing agent, Sustainable Management Services Limited, to implement a coffee-quality improvement project, with the aim of increasing the yields to over 3,000,000 kg. The production for the last three years was as follows:
2007: 1,074,154 kg
2008: 1,981,490 kg
2009: 1,470,258 kg
