Kenya – Mahiga

Mahiga is a processing station in Nyeri County in the village of Rukira. Established in 1962 and owned by Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society.

Mahiga receives coffee cherries from 400 members of the cooperative. These coffee cherries are processed through a four-disc pulping machine before being dried and sorted on the plant’s raised tables. Mahiga is located 1,800 m above sea level and is near the Mumwe River. Fresh, clean water is pumped from Mumwe to process the coffee, contributing to its exceptional quality.

The coffees in these farms are grown on the tips of the extinct volcano Mt Kenya, in an area characterized by its bright red, nutrient-rich volcanic soil, high elevation and cool climate, all of which contribute to the excellent quality of the coffees produced here. Most farmers in Nyeri are small cooperatives – with farms averaging only half a hectare – and grow coffee as a cash crop alongside food crops such as banana, maize, macadamia, avocados and vegetables.