PR85180

Nespresso invests in the Democratic Republic of Congo's coffee revival to bring back to life one of the world's most exclusive and finest coffees and improve thousands of lives in Kivu

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Unique Nespresso Reviving Origins program aims to restore coffee agriculture

in regions where it is under threat and offer rare coffees to consumers

- Partnership with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) to provide 80,000 people with

access to clean water and healthcare

Nespresso today announced a long-term commitment to revive the Democratic

Republic of Congo's (DRC) coffee industry, under its unique Reviving Origins

program, with the launch of the first organic coffee of the range, KAHAWA YA

CONGO, in the US. Established in 2019, the Reviving Origins program aims to

restore coffee production in regions where it is under threat, bringing back to

life some of the rarest fine coffees for all coffee connoisseurs to discover.

In 1980, coffee, ranked among the world's finest, was the second most important

export for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but declined in the early 2000's

due to years of conflict and economic instability that had a devastating impact

on the industry. Volumes have since dropped by 10 times. KAHAWA ya CONGO comes

from rain-rich volcanic soils along the shore of Lake Kivu in the Democratic

Republic of Congo. This area has the potential to be among the world's great

coffee regions but has faced extremely challenging conditions recently.

As part of its Reviving Origins program, Nespresso, together with the global

non-profit TechnoServe, the U.S Agency for International Development and coffee

trader Virunga Coffee/Olam International, has started to implement its AAA

Sustainable Quality™ Program in the Kivu provinces in 2019, through training

and technical support, to improve coffee quality and productivity, in addition

to establishing sustainable farming practices, and increasing farmer income.

Nespresso's ambition is to increase the number of Congolese farmers

participating in the program from 450 today to over 5'000 by 2024.

Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso said: "We are very proud to welcome Congo

into our Reviving Origins program and we are committed to providing long term

support that will help Congolese coffee farmers, and their communities, to

rebuild their coffee industry and their local economies".

"The coffee farmers we are working with have overcome incredible challenges

over the years, and are determined to improve their coffee and in so doing,

improve their lives," said William Warshauer, president and CEO of TechnoServe.

"Through better agronomic and processing techniques, and the engagement of a

reliable buyer like Nespresso, these farmers are already increasing their

incomes and starting to build a better future for their families."

Reviving coffee while enabling access to clean water and health support

Decades of conflict have led to many farmers fleeing their homes and abandoning

their crops. But coffee agriculture is not the only challenge. Today, 58% of

households in the Democratic Republic of Congo lack access to clean water

systems, and 15% of children do not reach their 5th birthday, with preventable

and treatable diseases such as water-borne illnesses, acute respiratory

infections and malaria among the leading causes.

To support the revival of DRC's coffee farming communities and in partnership

with the Eastern Congo Initiative, Nespresso is investing CHF 1 million to

bring affordable healthcare and access to clean water to communities across

South Kivu, contributing to eliminating cholera, a major health issue in the

Democratic Republic of Congo. 23 water access points and six health clinics

will be established (one primary and five mobile) which will deliver 13,000

health consultations per year to local communities. This will significantly

improve coffee farming communities' welfare and is part of Nespresso's holistic

approach to reviving the coffee industry in challenging areas.

"Everyone has the right to basic healthcare and clean, safe water, but for many

communities in the Kivu region – blighted by years of conflict, instability and

economic hardship – these services remain inaccessible or unaffordable. Through

the establishment of much-needed water points and health clinics, the Reviving

Origins program will positively impact thousands of people and transform

lives," Guillaume Le Cunff added.

"Through years of fighting and insecurity, Congolese families kept tending to

their coffee fields, even after the market disappeared," said ECI field

operations manager Valéry Namuto. "They kept toiling because they had hope in a

brighter future for their families. This new partnership with Nespresso will

help secure a meaningful livelihood for skilled Congolese farmers and bring

world-class basic services like clean drinking water and affordable healthcare

to their communities."

Nespresso formally launched the Reviving Origins program in 2019 to revive

coffee agriculture and local coffee economies in regions affected by

adversities such as conflict, economic hardship and environmental disasters,

following several years of experience in reviving forgotten coffee, starting in

South Sudan in 2011. It is an integral part of the Nespresso AAA Sustainable

Quality™ Program, the company's unique sustainable sourcing model in coffee

producing countries, which involves more than 110,000 farmers across the world.

Overall, Nespresso is investing a total of CHF 10 million in the Reviving

Origins program over a period of five years (2019-2023).

The "KAHAWA ya CONGO" coffee

The rain-rich volcanic soils along the Kivu lakeshores of Eastern Congo provide

an ideal environment for growing specialty Arabica coffee. The first organic

coffee in the Reviving Origins range, KAHAWA ya CONGO is a smooth, seasonal

coffee with a mild, fruity note, and alluring sweet cereal and nutty aromas. It

is now available exclusively in the US for a limited period for Vertuo.

Nespresso aims to make this new rare and exquisite coffee available globally,

as a seasonal edition, in 2021. The long-term objective of the Reviving Origins

program is to establish these under-threat coffees as permanent blends,

available all year round for consumers.

About the Reviving Origins program

Nespresso first discovered the potential of reviving a forgotten coffee when it

ventured to South Sudan in 2011. The limited edition SULUJA ti SOUTH SUDAN

became the country's second export after oil in 2015 and 2016, and helped to

diversify the economic base of the world's youngest nation. In 2016, Nespresso

launched the limited editions AURORA de la PAZ, its first coffee from the

Caquetá, Colombia, conflict region, and CAFECITO de CUBA the first Cuban coffee

to come to the United States in more than fifty years (exclusive for the US).

In 2019, Nespresso officially launched its Reviving Origins program[

https://www.nestle-nespresso.com/media/mediareleases/nespresso-reviving-origins]

alongside new single-origin coffees from Eastern Zimbabwe - TAMUKA mu ZIMBABWE

- and Caquetá and El Rosario, (Colombia) - ESPERANZA de COLOMBIA - followed by

Puerto Rico – CAFECITO de PUERTO RICO. In 2020, Nespresso introduced AMAHA awe

UGANDA[

https://www.nestle-nespresso.com/media/mediareleases/launch-of-new-ugandan-coffee-marks-second-year-of-success-for-nespresso]

from the Rwenzori Mountains regions of Uganda, and now KAHAWA ya CONGO from the

Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (exclusive for the US in 2020).

About Nestlé Nespresso

Nestlé Nespresso SA is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality portioned

coffee.  The company works with more than 110,000 farmers in 14 countries

through its AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program to embed sustainability practices

on farms and the surrounding landscapes. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with

the NGO The Rainforest Alliance, the program helps to improve the yield and

quality of harvests, while protecting the environment and improving livelihoods

of farmers and their communities. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland,

Nespresso operates in 84 countries and has 14,250 employees. In 2019, it

operated a global retail network of 810 boutiques. The brand currently has more

than 100,000 points to collect its used capsules globally, enabling 91% of its

consumers to recycle. For more information, visit the Nespresso corporate

website www.nestle-nespresso.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1201367/Nespresso_Logo.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1229468/Nespresso_1.jpg  

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1229469/Nespresso_2.jpg  

SOURCE: Nespresso