Photo: Green coffee beans arrive in US

Down a quiet, tree-lined street on the outskirts of Atlanta you can find picturesque cottages that were once home to the mill workers of historic Roswell. They now shelter offices and studios for a number of up and coming enterprises--high-tech hopefuls housed amid the architectural chic of brick and heart pine. These materials once signaled the homes of the textile working class—those who couldn’t afford wall to wall carpeting or plaster walls. Behind the front porch of one of these cottages a link is again being made to those who are working to rebuild and find economic stability, and the rich aroma wafting through the air is a sure giveaway.

The Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company is a direct link between the markets of the United States, the work of the Anglican Mission in The Americas and the ravaged land of Rwanda. “People may not associate Rwanda with coffee, but it’s been a main export for many years,” notes the Rev. Jonathan Golden, pastor of Roswell’s St. Peter’s Place church and the person responsible for getting the coffee company off the ground. “With the help of experts from Michigan State, coffee growers in Rwanda have recently learned how to produce high-quality, gourmet coffee that will compete with any of the finest brands here in the US,” he added. That coffee is now arriving on American shores and will soon be available through Anglican Mission churches and on-line.

The green coffee beans arrive in large burlap bags, and are then roasted in small batches at the Roswell location.  Three different blends and roasts are currently available.

Rwanda’s rich volcanic soil is perfect for growing coffee, but every pound has the bitter background of the 1994 genocide, in which nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus lost their lives in brutal tribal violence. Today work is going on in Rwanda to restore and reconcile, to bring together and strengthen—and Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee can sweeten the current situation.

Tutsis and Hutus are working side by side on the mountain slopes, nurturing and harvesting coffee that will provide a fair wage for the workers—at least $1.26 per pound, far more than the 40 cents that coffee buyers often pressure the small grower to accept. In addition, one dollar per bag of coffee sold in invested in a micro-finance program that supports economic recovery and social healing. This program works with Twa, Tutsi and Hutu widows under the name of Inyakurama, or Trinity.  In total, up to $3 per bag is invested in the Rwandan economy.

“This can make a real impact in Rwanda,” asserts Patrick Rukundo, sales and relationship manager for the new venture. “I’m excited to be a part of this. I studied international business here in the United States with the thought of being able to make a difference. Now I am doing just that,” observed the Rwandan native who now lives in the Atlanta area.

A recent Wednesday night in Roswell found a number of people enjoying the coffee at a tasting event and reception. Special guest was Anglican Bishop John Rucyahana from Rwanda, a backer of the new coffee project and Patrick’s father. Bishop Rucyahana was also key to the establishing, five years ago, of the Anglican Mission in The Americas (AMiA), an outreach of Rwanda’s Anglicans to the un-churched in the United States. There are now 75 AMiA congregations across the country, including St. Peter’s Place. For the bishop, it’s impossible to separate the spiritual needs from physical and social ones. “We cannot afford to be philosophical about redemption,” he told those at the coffee tasting. “We need loving engagement—when you engage people with Jesus, it connects. Christianity is practical.”

It is hoped that coffee, a staple accompaniment to countless encounters in friendship and business, will be a tool of loving engagement in the work of reconciliation, spiritual and otherwise, here in the US and in Rwanda. As Jonathan Golden puts it, “Drink a cup, and do good.”

Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee will be available through many of the Anglican Mission congregations, and through their website, www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com.
Call 866-875-4369 for more information or to place an order.

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