DR Congo: Mapendo, South Kivu/Kelehe

DR Congo: Mapendo, South Kivu/Kelehe

Roughly one quarter the size, one third the population and 0.06 percent the GDP of the United States with an estimated $25 trillion in mineral reserves and containing the Congo Basin, second only to the Amazon in world environmental importance, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is literally the “heart” of the African Continent, conceivably the linchpin of the continents politics and a potential flash point in world affairs.  Rare earth minerals are coveted for advanced manufacturing and like oil, spark international intrigue and conflict. The Congo Basin, coined the world’s “second lung” and host to the world’s third largest 2,900-mile Congo River, is relatively unexploited but, like the Amazon, is constantly experiencing the push-pull of development verse conservation. The estimated 30 billion tons of carbon, or 20 years of United States fossil fuel emissions, trapped in the Congo Basin’s “carbon sink” highlight the high stakes deforestation can pose. The Congo’s riches seem the countries albatross, being a dark harbinger of continuing difficulty. King Leopold II of Belgium’s 1885-1908 colonial ownership brought cruel exploitation providing a stark backdrop for Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad’s critique of colonial rule in Africa. “The horror! The horror!” was Kurtz’s, the novel’s protagonist, death soliloquy condemning humankinds imperialist exploitations. The country seems never to have recovered from this juxtaposition and yet again finds itself in the spotlight of international superpower contention.

Located on the extreme eastern DRC border, 1630 miles from the capital Kinshasa on the extreme western border, are the political and arabica coffee regions of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu which are the epicenter of the countries protracted insecurity. 30 years of off-on again struggles in these impoverished but resource-rich eastern provinces have spawned the latest crisis.  A 3-year Rwandan backed rebel insurgence has in total displaced 7 million people provisionally swelling the centrally located North Kivu capital city of Goma to over 2 million, over twice the population of the typical 700,000, while creating an overall humanitarian crisis. There is currently a ceasefire with a scheduled mediation between the DRC and Rwanda proctored by Angola, but the environment is uncertain.

Precariously tethered to this political reality, Congolese coffee walks an uncertain path. Although traditionally an important agricultural product, the 40 years between 1980-2020 saw an 80% decline in production due to such scenarios. Authoritarianism, corruption and plantation labor abuses have added fuel to the fire. This instability has resulted in suppressed production while contributing to rampant cross-border smuggling into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda to garner superior profit. The hopes of some recent national democratic reforms along with increased investment have bolstered a glimmer of resurgence.

One shining beacon is our Mapendo, South Kivu/Kelehe. The cultivated result from a ground swell of 4,200 small familial landholders, most farming less than 3 acres, binding together in Cooperative Agricole Muungano, Swahili meaning “togetherness”. Headquartered in the city of Kinyezire on Lake Kivu, which forms the eastern border with Rwanda, the cooperative is in the South Kivu coffee district which runs 120 miles north/south, roughly the length of Lake Kivu. In the center of the South Kivu district is the Kelehe Territory, where our Mapendo, Swahili meaning “love”, is cultivated.

Our coffee of “Love” is wash processed, all cherry fruit removed with the bean sun dried, at one of the cooperative’s three washing stations. The grind establishes aromas of intense strawberry jam, raspberry and concord grape. The pour generates an intense aroma of mixed fruit jam. There is a pleasing apple forward mid-range fruit taste… an apple a day keeps the doctor away. There is a rustic all-spice sweetness with a slight tannic apple peel front… something like a mulled spice apple cider. Send a universal message of “Mapendo” to the 4,200 brave farmers whose “Muungano” cultivates and polishes this small rustic gem.  Coffee seems to always to shine a beacon of hope, peace and love… beauty really can be found in the most elusive of places.

Process: Washed… removal of all cherry fruit with the bean dried

Elevation: 5511-6561 feet