Café Kuma: A Togolese Brand

Café Kuma is a cooperative of nine coffee growers from Kuma Dunyo, who transform green coffee beans into their own brand of roasted coffee. Each member manages their own coffee plantation, including Robusta and Arabica varietals. They are trained to apply organic and shade-grown cultivation methods. They store their coffee bean harvests collectively and then work together to transform their beans into a marketable product.

Kuma Dunyo is a mountain village, 20 kilometers northwest of Kpalimé, Togo. Coffee has been grown in this region since the late 19th century on small family plantations. Yet, present consumption in Togo is primarily imported instant coffee. Few Togolese nationals take the pains to roast the beans that they grow in their backyard; and purchasing high-quality roasted coffee is expensive. Likewise, visitors to Togo also have few opportunities to drink a freshly brewed cup of uniquely Togolese coffee, even though coffee is major export of Togo.

Five years ago, a Peace Corps Volunteer posted in the Kuma mountains organized a training workshop on roasting green coffee beans. The Volunteer wanted to introduce the idea of adding value to an already abundant agricultural product by transforming it into a finished product. Some of the participants were inspired to form Café Kuma, led by Egan Kodzo, an exceptionally motived entrepreneur amongst them. In 2004, Café Kuma cooperative began by roasting over 500 kilograms of green coffee beans for sale under their own brand.

In subsequents years, Café Kuma worked to increase production, improve the quality of their finished product, expand markets and improve their organisation. Peace Corps Volunteers from the Small Enterprise Development Program continued to work with them after the departure of their first Volunteer. The Volunteers advised them on marketing, organizational development, packaging and distribution.

Though the members of Café Kuma have appreciated the help of Peace Corps Volunteers over the years, they are anxious to prove that they can stand on their own. Therefore, I am working with them to strengthen their organisational structure; develop a stream-lined production with quality-control; and begin strategic planning.

Café Kuma currently roasts their beans over wood-burning fires, using hand-operated, locally-designed contraptions similar to stove-top popcorn poppers. Using this roasting methods, it is difficult to produce even roasting. Though Café Kuma does not intend to completely abandon this artisanal method for roasting, we are also planning to invest in equipment for roasting that will meet a Café Kuma standard from batch to batch.

This is a crucial year for Café Kuma. To ensure steady production and future growth, they would like to expand and solidify their presence in regional markets. One idea is to introduce a new product—packaging their roasted and ground coffee into tea-bags of single-serving sizes. If this can be done at a reasonable cost, this new product could be marketed to common cafeterias and general stores as an alternative to imported instant coffees.

Additionally, Café Kuma's proximity to Kpalimé, a major tourist destination of Togo, has encouraged them to promote their production site as an ecologically-friendly tourist spot. Visitors to Togo like to hike the mountains of Kuma to scope verdant vistas of Togo and Ghana and become encircled by a variety of butterflies. Café Kuma is always happy to host visitors at their headquarters, which has a bedroom and latrine, and offer them a tour of their coffee plantations. And Fidèle—Kodzo's wife and fellow cooperative member—is a wonderful cook!
In the long-run, Café Kuma dreams to ship their product to American and European markets. In the meantime, please visit www.cafekuma.com for more information about their coffee production and visiting the Kpalimé area.