Named for the Swahili word for “‘love”, this Mapendo coffee was grown by members of the larger Coopérative Agricole Muungano in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of sixteen distinct lots grown by 297 smallholder farmers, nearly 44% of those farmers are women.

We purchased this lot from Mighty Peace Coffee (read more about them down below!). Jim Ngokwey, Managing Partner at Mighty Peace, explains the naming of this coffee:

"The name Mapendo came from conversations with our team on the ground and the producers; we wanted a name to identify the lots that are being produced for Mighty Peace Coffee and would represent the meaning and message they want to put out to the world through their partnership with us...This collaborative approach to naming the coffee, instead of naming it after the washing station or territory, fosters further ownership and engagement in this partnership, and allows the community to play a role in the story and meaning their coffee conveys to the world."

Mighty Peace recognizes the need to reclaim the narrative of the Congo and of Congolese coffee, and spread the word to coffee-consuming countries - in fact, it's one of their founding principles to build up media resources so that these stories from Congolese coffee farmers can be shared.

One such resource is the video above, where Linda Mugaruka, Mighty Peace Coffee’s Chief Quality Officer and Agronomy Engineer, educates coffee farmers on specialty coffee techniques, which helps them to produce high-quality coffee consistently, year after year. The farmers featured in the video are from both the Coopérative Agricole Muungano cooperative and from a neighboring cooperative called AMKA, which is about a 2 hour drive from the Muungano co-op. The farmers in the photos to the right are all from Muuganno.

Specialty coffee in the modern Congo has been described as a factor bringing economic stability and peace. Jim agrees, explaining that “coffee will play a major role and that's why we launched Mighty Peace Coffee… While there are many factors driving the conflicts, extreme poverty is the main culprit and that's why the jobs created and coffee purchased can make a difference in the short and long-term.”

Mighty Peace, Jim and Linda have received well-deserved press for their work:

• Congo's Specialty Brews Look to Be the 'Future of Coffee'
• Three Questions for Linda Mugaruka
• Eight Essential Coffee Questions with Jim Ngokwey