Currently en route from Rome via Brussels, Belgium, your Sprudge.com editors will be reporting live all week long from the tiny, mountainous East African nation of Rwanda. Our itinerary – in concert with Fair Trade USA and Counter Culture Coffee – takes us from Kigali to Butare, and to around a half-dozen coffee cooperatives throughout Western Rwanda, including Dukundekawa, Abukundekawa, and COOPAC.
We’ve never been to Africa before; in fact, we’ve never taken Sprudge on the road quite like this. Our pre-trip planning has been thoroughly informed by experts from throughout the industry, friends who’ve taken the time to reach out to us about their experiences in Rwanda, telling us what to watch out for, what’s special about the place, and their personal experiences traveling there. But we imagine that to some degree this will all sort of wash away once we’re there, and the experiences become real and visceral for us in a personal way.
We’re first-timers at this, and have no idea what we’re doing (why front?), but we’ll fortunately be traveling with people who do. So armed with pen and paper and camera and lens, we’ll do our best to directly transmit these next few days in Rwanda to you, and maybe, just maybe, provide a little extra context for the next cup of Rwandan coffee you’re lucky enough to enjoy.
So come with us, won’t you?
Photo credit: Ryan Brown, Stumptown Coffee
