Rwanda: Starbucks Awards Farmers

Kigali — Starbucks Coffee Company has awarded the 'Black Apron Exclusives' to farmers of Gatare and Kiyovu districts. According to the Starbucks' Report released July 8, 2006 the Black Apron Exclusives coffees are a rare honor bestowed upon only the best and most exceptional coffees found in the world, and are produced in limited supply. To date, five out of 11 Starbucks Black Apron Exclusives have been awarded to African coffee growers.

Starbucks awards US$15,000 for each Black Apron Exclusives coffee, which is to be applied to projects that will help to improve the lives of the farmers in the community. The coffee farmers that deliver coffee cherries to the Gatare and Karengera washing stations promised to purchase cows for the communities' coffee farmers, which supplement their local diets and provide organic fertilizer for their smallholder coffee farms. Earlier, the Starbucks Coffee Company contributed nearly US$8,000 for the purchase of classroom furniture including chairs, desks, and lockers for six classrooms at Kinunu School in Kiyovu District in Rwanda, while Starbucks exporter and the local community also sponsored the construction of a playground for the school, benefiting more than 100 children.

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