“These floods and mudslides were the worst catastrophic event in our lifetimes. 28 people lost their lives. Almost everyone is affected; houses, roads, bridges, crops, and animals were all impacted.”
- Evariste Hagumimana, manager of Shyira coffee washing station
In May 2020, devastating rains, flooding and heavy mudslides hit the Nyabihu District in northern Rwanda.
Nyabihu is home to the families that produce the popular Shyira and Vunga coffees that you may know and love. Communities in Shyira and Vunga have lost loved ones, and their livelihoods. For the more than 300 families that deliver coffee to Shyira and Vunga, the direct cost to replace lost crops and buildings has reached USD $132,000. An estimated USD $41,000 was required immediately to help deliver food, water, and clothing to those who have lost their homes.
In addition, much of the land is no longer be suitable for planting - farmers have lost not only their crops and income for the coming season but the assets that they could use to earn future income. This is on top of the impacts of COVID-19 that were already reducing the income of farmers this season.
Physical losses include at least 325 homes
(including 38 homes of families that deliver coffee to Vunga or Shyira), livestock, coffee trees and other crops. Vital community and utility infrastructure have also been destroyed including 36 classrooms, 12 churches, a healthcare centre, the Vunga market, and electrical and water supplies.
For some of you, this disaster will have spoken very close to home, having either visited these communities in person, purchased their coffees for your roasteries, or worked with them in your cafes.