【Rwandan Traditional Dance】
Preface
Rwanda, friends who are slightly familiar with the modern history of Africa, will think of a series of shocking events that have happened in this country, especially in the year 1994, when the names of Hutu, Tutsi and Tewa often appeared in the news and newspapers, and even the Rwanda Hotel film is only a part of that time in a more euphemistic and restrained way.
【Several main creators of Rwanda Hotel】
With a total area of about 26,000 square kilometers and a total population of about 14 million, Rwanda is a landlocked country located in the central and eastern regions of Africa, south of the equator. Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
In addition to its turbulent and bloody moments, Rwanda is one of more than 40 least developed countries declared by the United Nations, but this has quietly changed. Here are only coffee, tea, chili peppers, honey and other representative things to talk about another style of Rwanda, which has not been seen for a long time.
【Kigali, the capital of Rwanda】
1. Endless coffee
Who brought Rwandan coffee
Coffee cultivation in Rwanda originated in the early 20th century, when German missionaries brought coffee seedlings to Rwanda in 1904, and finally chose to grow coffee in Rwanda's relatively high-altitude and fertile volcanic soils, and the results were no longer unexpectedly successful.
【Rwandan Coffee】
The fertile soil and climate are conducive to the growth of coffee beans, and the taste and quality of the coffee are gradually developing into Rwanda's own character. The main coffee producing areas in Rwanda are in the south and west, especially in mountainous areas, generally between 1,700 and 2,200 meters above sea level, and the coffee beans are harvested intensively between March and June each year.
【Coffee plants on Rwandan coins】
Who is pushing Rwandan coffee
After 1995, the situation in Rwanda gradually eased, and in order for Rwanda to be able to feed itself – in fact, the real purpose was not to allow Rwanda to just crawl out of the quagmire of war and turn around and fall into the vortex of hunger, which would increase the occurrence of another serious humanitarian catastrophe.
Rwandan coffee, as a key agricultural product, has received international interest-free loans and partial free financial assistance, and of course, the technology and market during the transition period will certainly be transferred and provided free of charge.
【Coffee Plantations in Rwanda】
Around 2000, about 46 coffee washing plants were built in Rwanda, so to this day, Rwandan coffee beans are still mainly hand-selected and then washed by hand: after selecting the ripe coffee fruits, the coffee farmers remove the peel and pulp, wash and ferment for 12-18 hours, clean the pectin, and finally dry it until the moisture content is less than 14%.
【Coffee Plantations in Rwanda】
Volcanic, fruity and floral notes
Rwanda's volcanic soil gives the local coffee beans a unique fruity and floral aroma, and if Rwandan coffee tastes sweet, reminiscent of blueberries, red apples and citrus, with a long aftertaste and so on – Rwandan coffee is really good and does have its own characteristics, but it doesn't need to be exaggerated because it's not really helpful.
[In the distance of the plantation are different volcanoes]
Fate with us
Rwanda has a coffee called Gorilla brand, and we have a deep fate - has participated in our CIIE many times, as early as 2018, Rwandan coffee through the first CIIE to meet with our domestic consumers, Rwandan ambassador to China of course also came to cheer up, according to Rwandan statistics, Rwandan coffee farmers now can earn an extra $4 per bag of coffee sold (don't get me wrong, the international standard is 60 kg of coffee per bag), close to 30 yuan.
【Developing tourism by the way using coffee plantations】
At the 4th CIIE, some Rwandan coffee brands followed our e-commerce live streaming trend and reached cooperation with several leading e-commerce anchors. At the 5th CIIE, the Rwandan ambassador to China simply went into battle in person, acted as a "Rwandan coffee recommendation officer" in the live broadcast room, and specially added our cultural elements in coffee packaging.
[Rwanda: Coffee bean washing and drying stations nearby]
Second, the tea that cannot be picked endlessly
Coffee and tea are the two most exported products of Rwanda, and the annual export value of these two agricultural products can account for 60%-70% of Rwanda's total export value. The highest quality tea is in Rwanda.
【Rwandan Tea Plantations: Early Morning Fog】
The history of cultivation is not long
The history of tea cultivation in Rwanda is very short, and it was only in 1956 that tea was introduced to Rwanda. By around 1990, Rwanda had more than 12,000 hectares of tea cultivation and could supply more than 12,800 tons of tea to local tea factories every year. In the 21st century, Rwanda's tea planting area has increased by more than 20% in fact, especially in 2017, when Rwanda's tea planting area soared to more than 30,000 hectares.
【Tea plantations in Rwanda】
The quality is good, but the channel is single
Rwanda is located at a high altitude and is blessed with a unique natural environment that produces high mountain teas with a high aroma, light bitterness and strong taste. However, Rwanda's tea is all used to make black tea, and the sales channel is still mainly auctioned through the Mombasa Tea Trading Center in Kenya, but in recent years, Rwanda has begun to take the initiative to promote Rwandan tea to East Asia and other regions.
【Rwandan tea farmers at work】
For example, driven by Rwandan tea, coffee and other products, Rwanda's exports to us in 2023 increased by more than 87%, reaching a record of about 131 million US dollars, or about 1 billion yuan, and at our second CIIE, Rwanda's high mountain tea made its debut - Rwanda's tea customers in Asia were mainly Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.
【Rwandan tea farmers at work】
Highly similar, but with a small market
Rwandan tea is characterized by its bright red color, transparent and bright, which is very similar to English black tea, and has a soft and mellow taste and low bitterness. However, it is not without shortcomings, for example, even in 2020, Rwanda only has about 18 tea factories, and the production capacity is insufficient; For example, all production links are still mainly manual, of course, it can be said that it is purely handmade when promoting, but the efficiency will definitely not go up.
【At the foot of the mountain is the residence of tea farmers】
The point is that even though it is highly similar to English black tea, Rwandan black tea has a small sales reach for the European market – not as easy to enter as coffee. As of 2023, the European market that can be entered is still the United Kingdom and Russia, while the EU market, which is in huge demand, does not see a large number of Rwandan black tea for the time being, such as Kenya and Tanzania. India, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries are mainly supplying black tea products from the European Union.
[Rwanda: roads, tea plantations, distant mountains]
3. Can't stand the chili pepper
Rwanda is rich in chili peppers, and Habanero peppers are among the hottest in the world. However, because it is too spicy and the local consumption power is weak, Rwandan peppers often face the embarrassing situation of "quality but no market".
[Chili pepper is one of the important spices produced in Rwanda]
It can provide chili peppers to Hunan
There is no need to describe how much Hunan can eat chili peppers, and it is Rwanda that can export chili peppers to Hunan. As early as March 2021, Rwanda signed a protocol with us on the inspection and quarantine requirements for the export of Rwandan dried chili peppers to China, and in August of that year, the first batch of dried chili peppers from Rwanda arrived in Hunan - two firsts: Rwanda became the first African country to export dried chili peppers to us; Hunan became our first province to receive dried African chili peppers.
[It's too spicy, so I have to wear a mask]
At the same time, in order to open up new sales channels, Rwandan chili peppers actively participated in our CIIE, and Rwandan chili peppers were unveiled as the three main commodities of Rwanda in our first CIIE. At the 3rd CIIE, Rwanda also upgraded its product, Rwandan chili sauce, and upgraded its packaging, of course, chili oil and dried chili peppers are certainly not missing. By the 4th CIIE, Rwandan chili products won more than 2 million US dollars in orders for chili oil and 17 tons of dried chili peppers.
[Rwanda's dried chili peppers are known as the second hottest in the world]】
If our pepper market continues to expand imports, Rwanda has also made a calculation: if a local farmer in Rwanda grows 1 hectare of peppers, the planting and harvesting cycle is about 8 months, and the average daily income is about 50-60 yuan, which is about 5 times the income of local people who used to work.
As for Rwandan chili peppers, one last word, according to the agreement between Rwanda and us, by 2026, Rwanda's chili suppliers will export about 50,000 tons of dried chili peppers to us, excluding chili oil, chili sauce and other derivative products.
【Rwandan yellow pepper】
Fourth, the honey that can't be brewed
Rwanda has a long history of beekeeping, but in the past, local beekeeping was usually used to collect honey for family use, and only a small amount would be sold along the local streets, and there was no industry, let alone the ability to export honey in large quantities.
[Rwandan honey has received international aid and support in recent years]
Female beekeeper in Rwanda
Launched in 2020 by UNESCO and France, Rwanda's Women Beekeepers project has a clear goal: to increase the employment of women in Rwanda and to increase the production and quality of Rwandan honey – Rwanda's agricultural products that can receive international support are actually coffee and honey, and tea and chili are really up to Rwanda to break through.
【Female beekeepers in Rwanda】
More than 30 Rwandan women in each cohort participated in the training programme, but the selection was not random, their family members had experience in beekeeping, and for many years Rwandan beekeeping was all done by men, and if Rwandan women were to do the same work, not only would they be able to have a job themselves, but they would also be able to pass on the skills they had learned to other family members.
【Female beekeepers in Rwanda】
The accident of the Rwandan queen bee
In 2021, a man who called himself Rwanda's "queen bee" appeared in a number of foreign media because he could wear a "bee coat", the Rwandan man's name is Ndayisaba, a beekeeper with more than 30 years of beekeeping experience, and he knows the living habits of local bees in Rwanda. Only the eyes and nostrils are exposed, and the whole body is like a thick "bee coat".
【One of the most common Rwandan bees】
However, this "technique" is not mysterious, and slightly experienced beekeepers know the trick inside, such as generally choosing a gentle queen bee (avoiding the irascible queen bee) first, and then tying the queen bee to a certain part of the body, with a large abdominal area for more bees to "settle down", so it is often used as the preferred location.
[Rwandan female beekeeper at work]
Only bees can make honey
While this is common sense, sometimes it is impossible to prevent it. For example, the African killer bee, which often attacks bees, is hot-tempered, aggressive, and can chase for distances of several kilometers. Moreover, the venom gland of the African killer bee will secrete a light yellow transparent liquid, which is complex in composition, which can make the blood vessels shrink rapidly, thereby weakening the blood transfusion function, and the heart is greatly damaged after being mixed with blood, so after being stung by the African killer, it will have headache, nausea, vomiting and fever; In severe cases, coma, kidney failure, and so on.
The aforementioned Rwandan "bee coat" performer was stung by an African killer bee mixed with the bees, and the performance was interrupted.
[They are warriors]
epilogue
According to the World Bank's statistics in March 2024, Rwanda, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire are the three fastest-growing African economies in 2023, with Rwanda performing the best. Rwanda's GDP grew by 8.2% year-on-year in 2023, surpassing the estimated year-on-year growth of around 6.2% at the end of 2022, according to Rwanda's New Times. The two sets of data corroborate each other, and at least prove that Rwanda's economic development is basically true.
【Gorillas in the Virunga Volcano Park in Rwanda】
Therefore, the coffee that cannot be brewed and the tea that can be picked endlessly; The unbearable chili peppers and the endless brewing honey can only describe some of the outlines of Rwanda, a country that was once extremely sad and difficult in terms of agriculture, but Rwanda is not without potential crises – for example, the high inflation problem that is widespread on the African continent is already looming in Rwanda, and if the rate and quality of economic growth come to a sudden brake, the situation in Rwanda will be reversed.
【Gorillas in the Virunga Volcano Park in Rwanda】
From what we have talked about earlier, I believe you can already see that our cooperation with Rwanda is relatively smooth. In June 2024, we will hold a conference on agricultural cooperation and food security with major African countries in Rwanda. Rwanda's Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources is frank: not only does Rwanda need more food, but the entire African continent is facing the same demand, and he looks forward to further increasing investment in Rwanda's agricultural sector and expanding its market share in Rwanda's agricultural products such as dried peppers, coffee, tea and honey.
Whether it goes well or not, I wish the lives of the Rwandan people can get better and better, at least not repeat the human tragedy of the 80s and 90s of the 20th century.
【Scenes from Akagera National Park, Rwanda】