Friday, March 22, 2019

Njeru’s Passion


Mr Justin Njeru has devoted his life to coffee farming in the lush tropics surrounding majestic Mount Kenya.

But the first time he tasted his own quality coffee was when I visited from the UK and stayed at his hotel and gave him a bag of freshly ground beans grown on the slopes of Mount Kenya that I’d bought from a supermarket in London!”

Sitting together on the shady balcony of the Snow Peak hotel, he slowly pushes down the plunger and chuckles with glee at the irony!

At the age of 76, married to wife Sylvia for 47 years, father of six and grandfather of 13, Mr Njeru has a renewed sense of purpose!




Revenge is Sweet

He is finally defying the British colonialists! And the taste of revenge is sweet!

He explains that in the 1950s the British rulers made it illegal for the local people in the fertile coffee-growing region of Meru to drink their own coffee.

Instead the lucrative product was exported for the burgeoning mass markets in the UK and profits were greedily grabbed by the wealthy elite.

Hard-working Kenyan coffee farmers were paid peanuts!  

He reflects: “I remember when coffee was first introduced to this area, people, even the growers were not allowed to drink coffee because it was not available in the shops. The only way one could drink coffee was to use crude means like grinding the beans with stones and boiling it. If you were caught you would be prosecuted. You would be taken to the Chief and punished.

“Our coffee was all being exported. It was for export to Britain, for the white man.”

Passion of a Lifetime

Mr Njeru grew up learning every aspect of coffee growing from his father. He has witnessed green berries turn into ruby cherries for countless seasons and he’s harvested and processed millions of sacks of beans.

“When coffee was first introduced in 1950 my father planted coffee. We didn't have farm implements so the children would dig the holes and watch as the trees were planted. So I developed an interest in growing coffee as a child. It has been my life-long passion.”

He nurtures 15,000 trees spread over 17 acres of idyllic farmland of volcanic red soil, basking under blue skies of endless sunshine and generous rainfall, producing the finest coffee in the world.

A Champion of the Growers

He has championed the rights of hundreds of coffee growers in the region as Chairman of the Mount Kenya Fine Arabica Coffee Growers’ Association. And yet, even today, 56 years after Independence from British Rule in 1963, farmers are still exploited by the middlemen and paid peanuts for their delectable beans.

“Growing coffee is very difficult and the regulations are stringent, especially during harvesting. You must take only the ripe berries of the finest quality.

“The coffee grown in Kenya is mostly Arabica which is better in quality because of the aroma and the acidity. And growing Arabica is more demanding, the care is more tender, than growing Robusta coffee.

“We are proud that Kenyan coffee is renowned as the best in the world.”

Justice for Justin

While coffee connoisseurs around the world are insatiable for their daily caffeine fix, the farmers of Kenyan do not receive a fair price for their top quality product, their arduous labour and their loving dedication to perfection.

But all that can change. Justice for Justin and his fellow coffee growers is possible if they can by-pass the controlling grip of the Coffee Board and sell directly to independent buyers from other countries.

Talking about his hopes and dreams, he states: “Growers should be allowed to do their own marketing and sell to the willing buyer. We are fighting for the right to sell our coffee freely.”

“Development in this region is all pegged to coffee as a cash crop. Coffee has supported education by building schools and allowing parents to pay school fees.

“I dream of processing and exporting my own coffee as a finished product, rather than a raw material, at fair price.”

As international trade markets relax, there is hope that Kenyan farmers will finally receive a fair price for their quality coffee, their expertise and their labour.  And maybe the local people will even get to enjoy a freshly ground brew of this elixir of life. 

Talented young film makers Victor and Mike made this delightful film about Mr Njeru's passion for coffee growing