Lukula

Lukula is a small town in the Mayombe rainforest along the disused Mayumbe railway line, which once connected Kinshasa with Boma to speed up the export of colonial goods. Around 20,000 residents live among the ruins of this history. Surrounding the town are former rubber plantations – some reclaimed by the rainforest, others still cultivated or replaced by cocoa. Police and regional administration are housed in colonial buildings, remnants of a violent past.

On the grounds of a decaying rubber factory – still used for smaller transports today – Cayombe’s coffee drying beds now stand. The newly founded cooperative aims to reach the specialty market with Petit Kwilu Canephora. Staff buy cherries deep in the rainforest and transport them out by motorbike: 80, sometimes 100 kilograms on dangerous routes. The cherries are small, yields are low, and drying in the cool, misty rainforest is risky. With major organizational, financial, and logistical effort, coffee is being produced here in a place that once stood exclusively for rubber.

The results speak for themselves: the anaerobically fermented and subsequently washed Petit Kwilu won 1st and 3rd prize in the “Robusta Washed” category at AFCA in Addis Ababa. A milestone for the chronically underrepresented Congolese coffee industry and a signal of recognition for Congolese diversity. Because Petit Kwilu is Canephora, but not Robusta: genetically belonging to the Coffea canephora var. Kouillou line and – like Luki – as far removed from Robusta as possible, with its own identity.

Operations are challenging. With Cayombe, we are working with an actor who combines big ambitions with extraordinary energy. During our visit to Lukula in the summer of 2025, we were able to witness the cooperative’s first steps. We are happy to be part of this pioneering work and to be able to offer this significant coffee.