In Kenya, coffee flourishes in a number of regions: in the foothills all around Mt Kenya, near Mt. Elgon on the western border near Uganda, and near the Aberdare Mountains. The country currently has six million people working in the coffee industry with over 570,000 coffee farms. Some of the greatest Kenyan coffees hail from the Nyeri District of the Central Province in the foothills between the Aberdare Mountains and
the south-facing slopes of Mt. Kenya.
Gatomboya Factory is located in Mathira, Nyeri directly across the valley from Gaturiri Factory which was our first Kenyan Direct Trade coffee. Both factories (washing stations) are part of the Barichu Farmer Cooperative Society (FCS) which is the larger member run entity that oversees coffee sales and financial matters. Gatomboya was built in 1987 under the Mathira FCS, but they broke off their affiliation in 1996 to join Barichu FCS. In both 2005 and 2006, Gatomboya won awards for the quality of their crops. There are currently 698 smallholder coffee farmer members from four surrounding villages in the Gatomboya Factory. These members appoint a factory manager as well as three representatives for the Barichu management committee. The factory manager goes through a two week training every two years which focuses on processing and management techniques.
Each farmer cultivates an average of 300 SL28 and SL34 varietal coffee trees under the shade of Grevillea, Macadamia, and Eucalyptus trees. Each coffee plot is grown around the farmer’s individual homes alongside other crops such as tea, maize, bananas, and various vegetables. The main harvest season is from October to January. Coffee cherries are hand-picked for optimum ripeness, which requires each area to be picked multiple times over the harvest at 10 to 14 day intervals. Once at the factory, the cherries are sorted and graded meticulously before they are accepted and then processed using a 4 disc depulper. The nearby Kirigu River provides the water source for the factory. Once depulped, the beans are double fermented, washed, and sun dried on raised beds. Gatomboya, in true Kenyan fashion, focuses on the utmost care during processing and drying of their high quality coffee.