About Kayu AB

Kayu Coffee Factory is located in Central Province of Murang’a County’s Rwatha subregion, within the Kangema Division near Kangema town. It was established in 1964 and rests on a 7-acre piece of land serving Kayu, Njumbi, Rwathia, and Mihuti villages. Its membership currently stands at 1191. It’s the oldest coffee factory located near tea-growing zones.

The factory lies about 1650 masl on lands rich with volcanic red soil. The area experiences temperatures ranging between 13-26 degrees Celsius. The longer rainy season runs between March and May while the shorter one comes between October and December.

The area experiences a biennial production cycle with the early harvest being from March through May and the later second season being from October through December.

In line with the rising awareness on the need to conserve the environment, the factory has built 4 wastewater soaking pits. Here, the water used for and acidified by processing coffee is allowed to soak back into the soil in key areas where it won’t contaminate the water table. Currently the factory does not engage in wastewater treatment.

The affiliate members of the factory carry out all agronomic activities associated with coffee production, including sourcing coffee from the Coffee Research Station and planting it according to the stipulated guidelines and latest best practices.

Fieldwork involves weeding, pruning, spraying and application of fertilizer, mulching, and technical advice. Technical advice is offered through farmer training programs and field visits/days offered by the ministry of agriculture.

The field committee checks compliance and advises on best practices, making seasonal rounds from farm to farm. They usually check that coffee is not intercropped with other non-optimal crops like maize and bananas, and promote intercropping with macadamia. They also encourage farmers who have abandoned their coffee plants to come back since prices are so high.

After harvest, all coffee is delivered to the factory and undergoes wet processing. Water is pumped using a diesel engine from the nearby Kagondo River to reservoir tanks for pulping and recirculation.After pulping, coffee is stored overnight, washed, soaked, and spread on drying tables where it receives frequent turning and sorting. It’s then stored awaiting delivery to the miller. To ensure that processing is carried out efficiently the factory has invested in a pulper, a recirculation system, and 33 conditioning bins.

The environment is mostly made up of indigenous trees which are well protected by the community, and tea grows here too.

Most people marry within their tribe. Everyone in the area speaks Kikuyu but the communities have small dialect differences.

The farms here are mostly very small (1-2 hectares) and adults work the farms while children attend school all day. Schools here cost money, which unfortunately limits access to education and future opportunities in this mostly-poor area. Due to lack of opportunity, much of the young population is migrating en masse to cities in search of better jobs, leaving their parents alone on the farms or even taking their parents and abandoning their farms. This problem gets worse each year, but some producers remain hopeful that coffee can provide good business opportunities for their children.