Change must start from the roots

Ndurutu village; Kenya and Hamburg Germany are separated by thousand of miles but united together in a common love for coffee. The community in Ndurutu produces amazing coffee, and the community in Hamburg sells a load of coffee. It is our work to tell this coffee story as fully as possible and support this farming community to rebuild their lives.

The Ndurutu Primary school is situated at the end of a dusty road in the village sorrounded by small scale coffee farms and only 200 metres from the Ndurutu Wet mill. Last year , through our partnership with Nicole & Heinz of Sandtorkai Handel Papenhagen, we shipped 30 tonnes of green coffee to Germany from this community.

Arrival of 15 tonnes of green coffee in Bremen- Nicole ready to receive this amazing coffee

Ndurutu Primary; I sigh....Years ago i attended this school, like me and the Kedovo gang, the children of the coffee producers from the village know no other place. Far from Kenya's capital, most of the families here still have limited acess to basic services and often cannot afford to pay the stipulated school fees set out by the Board. The Kenyan education system has had significant progress since 2003 when the Kenyan government introduced a legislation for Free Primary School, enrollment increased but it brought with it a major infrastructural problems especially in the rural areas, which unless tackled in a holistic Approach will not be ending anytime soon.

To all the People who believe in our coffee, let us not let these children live in the ruins of broken dreams...

All you Need to do is Purchase coffee from my People ;)

Our goal is to supply you with the very best quality coffee. But how do we guarantee this, if our producers cannot afford the basic necessities of life? How do we guarantee this when their children get rained on inside their classrooms? How do we create sustainability and harmonize the relationship with our producers when their children' s school has classrooms that are unsound?

Its out of these concerns that we started the project -Renovation of Ndurutu Primary. What could be better than coffee and giving the children of our coffee farming families a great and functional school?? Renovating this school is giving a much needed hope to a struggling community. Changes must start from the roots.



Ndurutu Primary School

Classrom

classroom

The school has a total of 11 classrooms , a meeting hall and 3 rooms which are used for adminstration purposes. The kitchen is in an unsound state and currently only used for the preparation of meals for the teachers. By renovating the school, we bring an amazing impact to the demoralized children and give this community's young generation a chance for social and economical development. By starting at the roots, we give these children chances in the ever developing world, chances to dream and improve the lives of this coffee growing community.

And our work began....

KEDOVO e.V Meeting the deputy head before the onset of the project

learning aid in class ECD - made from old jute bag

inside one of the classrooms

Survey & Planning

The Roof of the classrooms

discussions on way Forward- the Meeting hall

School kitchen

class ECD & 1, where our Project will begin

class 2 & Meeting hall-

And so.....

We started the renovations in December 2015, and so far we have finished renovating 3 classrooms and the meeting hall.

The project would not have been possible without the support of Bingo Projektförderung Schleswig Holstein, and on behalf of my people our sincere thanks.

Time and time again i get frequently asked why these children? Why this community? You have to understand- am one of them, i am a daughter of a coffee producer, their pain is my pain- they are my people. Growing up in our small farm, life was difficult- i can tell you its much harder now than it was for these coffee producing communities. They have absolutely no backup- no publich health insurance, no fully free public schools, if you cant pay for something upfront and in cash, you dont get it at all!

And the gang got down to do what we do best....changing lives through economical coffee production and community development.

And everyone got down to work

 

Fixing of new window and doors




Discussing with our Partners in Jan 2016



The Education for Sustainable Development project is so important to us at KEDOVO e.V, we know we are working for a change, we are restoring dignity and giving my people opportunities- opportunities to afford basic necessities. I believe the economic stability of these coffee producing communities begin when they are given chances and knowledege resources to make a livable income----this we can do by making sure Change starts from the roots..

and our work continued...

my mind..a thousand miles! will i be able to sell enough coffee to Support this community? I worry..

welding of new doors

Arrival of new School desks

sneak Peak ;)

Handing over the classrom to the Management & the Board of the school



Davie of KEDOVO organising the ECD class to move to their renovated classroom

The renovated ECD class

 

with our Team! well done guys!!

 

handing over 2 of the finished classroom to the chairman of the school- Mr George Karia

Yes we did it!!! Zackie handng over the 2 renovated classes to the Mangement Board

This community is dependant on coffee. Nothing else....unless me and you make coffee production sustainable, their economic and social effects will always be affected. My father turned 65 last year, to him and the rest of the aging community in the village, coffee is their lives, they have nowhere else to turn. They are filled with sad memories of struggle and exploitation. The village is faced with thousand of challenges, from increased poverty to a lack of interest in coffee farming by the youthful generation. There is a lot at stake...
And we continued renovating the classes...

James of KEDOVO Volunteers after a day of hard work

some of the parents helping in the renovations

And we came together as a community

Our model ensures that the children of our coffee Producers remain at School. My father believed that the answer to our poverty situation was through education. He still believes to date that education is the long term key and answer to poverty eradiction.Me and my siblings grew up knowing that education was the only means we could later use to overcome our situation. By giving these children chances beyond the farming villages of The Aberdares is the only way we can break the cycle of poverty and guarantee my people a different 'coffee story'

An excited headteacher & the chairman of the Board meets with the gang

handing over the next class

why would a German sweep classes in Kenya? -Because he believes in our work



class 2 settling in their renovated modern classroom

remember this class ;)



I believe......

remember the ECD class with the jute bag? ;)

All over the world more than 4 Million small scale coffee producers live below the poverty line, Ndurutu is amongst them.It is important to practice ethical practices that provide greater economic benefits to coffee Producers.
Lets give their children chances to higher education, chances to see the world

To Nicole and Heinz, our gratitude is beyond words. Without your partnership, this would have been so much harder.And i believe together we will still continue changing lives. To all of you who Support our coffee Project wholeheartedly; Erika, Kira, Manuel, Reinhold, Connie, Christian, Daniel, Stefan, Jonas, Ulrike; just to mention a few, your work is not in vain. Asanteni sana.

Hall before

the hall after the gang descended on it ;)

the renovated Meeting hall

renovated hall & class 2

the finished renovated wing

To continue supporting these communities we have on offer Green coffee (Rohkaffee) from Ndurutu Wet Mill F.O.T Bremen, transport within Germany & the EU arrangable at a cost. Please contact Soni Schneidewind or Nicole Boedgter for information on samples, prices and contract.

For roasted Chania coffee kindly purchase from our Online Shop or visit our offices in Kaltenkirchen. Visit the shop & Cafe 'Ein Welt Laden' located at the VHS in Kaltenkirchen , am Kretemoor 40, or pass by at our stand at the Kaltenkirchener Wochenmark every Saturday from 07:00 hrs to 12 noon.

and our work continues.....

Hope Restored

Hope Restored; to the world its a Story book by Kenyan writer Violet Barungi. To the village of my birth its a new beginning for my people. A new beginning in 2016 where hope has been restored, a hope in economical sustainable coffee production and community development. A hope that one day our story will be known to the world. It might take another generation for the coffee producers in my village to fully thrive, but our hope has been restored.

An estimated 70% of Kenya's coffee farmers are micro and small-scale producers.

Many of these farmers to date are still not able to take care of very basic needs or even cover the cost of school requirements for their children.

Our work is to offer technical advice to the coffee farmers so they can improve their production methods to quarantee more yield and better quality. We later on through our partnerships purchase and ship the coffee to Germany via Direct Trade.

Farmer's field day- Ndurutu Wet mill  Jan 2016

Beginning of January we teamed up with our partners Heinz and Nicole plus a group of other Roasters from Germany and visited the village of my birth.It was a new beginning for both the farmers and our partners whom we have been working together for the last 2 years. Both teams could finally meet the people who produce our coffee to continue forging longterm relationships.

Nicole having a discussion with one of our farmers- Wilson Mwangi

the Team being taken through Export & warehousing by Maina of KCCE

Manuel cupping the best coffees for this season

My Name is..... ;)

my father with Holger of German Coffee Associatio

Farmers & Roasters Meeting- Ndurutu wet mill

During the trip we supported Ndurutu Wet Mill with a new Drying bed made of steel. This will ensure that the quality of coffee is maintaned during drying period. The mill has old drying beds made of timber, which have detererioted due to weather conditions and infested with ants. Our work towards community rural development is to support our coffee producers with the necessary tools and resources to improve their lives.

welding of the new drying bed

preparing the grounds for the new drying bed

Zackie of KEDOVO mixing the cement and sand to fix the Drying bed in the ground

work in progress

HP of Sandtorkai Papenhagen & Davie of KEDOVO handing over the drying bed to chairman Ndurutu Wet mill

My Story is the Story of thousands of coffee Producers all over the world and their families
Coffee is the only source of income in my village. To us coffee is not just a drink that lands on our breakfast table, ist simply our lives. It provides the economic backbone for thousands of rural communities. These communities are the most vulnerable to coffee crisis due to their location in the coffee supply chain. My village is punctuated by stories of disaster, recovery but above all humour, struggle and renewed hope.I believe that one day our Story will be the Story of how we overcame the struggles and poverty associated with coffee production. I have hope, a hope of a better tomorrow...

with my daughter on way to meet coffee farmers in Nyeri

During our farmers field day,  we emphasized greatly that producing quality coffee and the development of the community was the responsibilty of each and every one of them. We explained to them that what we are creating are conditions that can give them sustainable living, conditions to become entrepreneurs. We might be living an Ocean away but we are them- our relationship makes us stronger.

Enjoying a Cup of Ndurutu coffee roasted by Speicherstadt Kaffeerösterie from Hamburg

The day would have been incomplete without Barista Zackie @ work ;)

Joseph, the Manager at Ndurutu wet mill stressing a Point home

one of the farmers looking keenly at Ndurutu coffee from Speicherstadt Kaffeerösterie

Zackie of KEDOVO taking the farmers through our model & the idea of Revenue sharing

The visit by our Partners would not have been complete without paying a visit to Ndurutu Primary School. For those who follow our journey, they know that my heart bleeds for the children of our coffee Producers. In them i see my Young self and my siblings as my father struggled to put us through School with proceeds derived from coffee production. He struggled, and many are the days we lived on one meal a day as the proceeds werent enough to be divided among his 5 children. My mother hawked vegetables in the village on better days.
In those children's eyes i see the unshed tears of a lost hope. And to them i whisper a Hope Restored....

the future of my village lies in their sustainability.....lets give them chances

During the visit we kick started our great project for the year Renovation of Ndurutu Primary school.

The school has currently 150 pupils with classes of ECD to Class 8. Due to its infrastructure challenges, many of the farmers from the village take their children to Kirichu primary school which is 3km away.

By renovating the classrooms, we will ensure that the children of our coffee producers have access to better learning conditions. Conditions that will motivate them to improve their performances and a plus towards the journey of sustainability.Through this we are giving my community chances to rebuild their lives and restore their diginity.
This trip was not a Chance for the Roasters to make nice photos of coffee cherries on trees and the poor farmers Standing next to them, it was a trip for everyone involved in our journey to establish and harness the relationships that we have established with our Producers, it was a trip to restore hope in the village where i was Born...

Arriving at my old Primary School.... Memories

Nicole of Sandtorkai & avie of KEDOVO e.V handing over new books and other stuff to Ndurutu rimary

Ulrike of CATUCHO watching her sorroundings in Ndurutu Primary

Zackie of KEDOVO showing our Partners the clases targeted in first Phase of Renovations

HP of Sandtorkai breathing in fresh mountain air outside the KEDOVO-PAPENHAGEN Library in Ndurutu

the gang ;)

class 1 Ndurutu Primary- the Phase to be renovated first

und los geht's....kick starting the renovations of the school

ECD Class in dire Need of renovation

This article would be incomplete without the mention of our sincere gratitude to Loppokaffeeexpress.

Special thanks to Kira, Axel and the whole team of Loppokaffeeexpress of Kiel in Germany, and their dedication to continue supporting Ndurutu Primary. Through their partnership with KEDOVO e.V they supported the school with reading books as well as 15 full pairs of uniforms for 15 needy children of the coffee producers. Each uniform costs an average of 20€ which is an amount that some of the coffee farmers are unable to raise.

The Kenyan education system requires that each school going children compulsory put on an uniform.

some of the books supported by Loppokaffeeexpress

uniforms for 15 children supported by Loppokafeeexpress

the gang getting ready for work in community development @Ndurutu village

Davie & Zackie doing what they do best...restoring hope.

some of the Kids with their new uniforms

In Nov 2014, Kira visited our project in Kenya and she met several farmers and their families.

On behalf of my community our sincere gratitude for the continued support.

We mainly focus on improving the schools and the lives of the children of our coffee producers so that we can give them chances to better education, chances which on normal circumstances thousands of these children might not have, chances for a better tomorrow, chances which are key in access to employment or entrepreneurship that will help in breaking the cycle of poverty. Chances to dream, chances of a Hope Restored.


And we soldier on.....

To continue supporting these communities we have on offer Green coffee (Rohkaffee) from Ndurutu Wet Mill late crop 2014-2015 F.O.T Bremen, transport within Germany & the EU arrangable at a cost. Please contact Soni Schneidewind or Nicole Boedgter for information on samples, prices and contract.


For roasted Chania coffee kindly purchase from our Online Shop or visit our offices in Kaltenkirchen. Visit the shop & Cafe 'Ein Welt Laden' located at the VHS in Kaltenkirchen , am Kretemoor 40, or pass by at our stand at the Kaltenkirchener Wochenmark every Saturday from 07:00 hrs to 12 noon.