Amid ongoing conflict in the DRC, Congolese coffee producers stand strong in their craft—and they’ll be showcasing their work at the Best of Congo Cooperatives event on August 11-12.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR
Featured photo courtesy of African Coffee Connect
For Ghislain Kamondo, coffee is legacy.
Ghislain, whose father was a coffee grower on the Congolese island of Idjwi, continues his family’s work today by leading both the Olame Agricultural Cooperative and CongoAgri: a platform of cooperatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “For us, coffee isn’t just a product from the fields. It’s a tradition—a source of dignity and resilience, and transmission from one generation to the next,” he says.
With CongoAgri and organization African Coffee Connect, Ghislain is currently planning for the 2nd annual edition of Best of Congo Cooperatives: a conference and green coffee auction that will showcase the work of 20 cooperatives from the DRC. The event will take place August 11-12, 2025, in two locations: the DRC city of Goma and New York City, New York.
Alongside performances of live music and poetry, coffees will be cupped simultaneously by expert panels in Goma and NYC, followed by a public presentation and cupping at the NYC Counter Culture Coffee Training Center. Specialty-grade microlots will range from five 60-kilo bags (300 kilos) to 25 bags (1,500 kilos), and each coffee will be accompanied by a profile of the cooperative and its geolocation.
The event comes at a time of ongoing civil conflict in the DRC, and Ghislain describes it as a crucial moment for the country’s farmers, who look to coffee as a primary source of income and have managed to continue production despite immense challenges.
”For two years now, Best of Congo Cooperatives has been seen as a lifeline for producers who were beginning to despair as a result of the war,” Ghislain shared with Barista Magazine. “These small producers no longer receive visits from buyers and roasters, and are unable to take part in the world’s major fairs to demonstrate their know-how and the quality of their coffee.”
It’s against this backdrop that Best of Congo Cooperatives aims to celebrate the work of the DRC’s producers, and help them create a viable future.
Navigating a Decades-Long Conflict
Jim Ngokwey, founder of Optimist Coffee Traders, focuses on sourcing coffee exclusively from the DRC, and is helping to organize this year’s Best of Congo Cooperatives event. He spoke with Barista Magazine to share a brief background of the conflict in the DRC and the direct effect it’s had on the country’s producers.
“The North and South Kivu provinces in the DRC, where most of the participating cooperatives operate, have unfortunately faced intermittent conflict for decades,” Jim says. “There was a significant escalation earlier this year, and parts of these provinces are currently under control and occupation of the M23 rebel movement and the Rwanda Defense Forces.”
Jim goes on to explain that though a peace deal was recently signed, the people of the DRC are still waiting to see its effects on the ground—and the losses from the past three decades of conflict are still deeply felt.
“Armed groups sometimes retreat or seek refuge in rural areas,” he says, sharing that many civilians have died as a result of the war, and even more displaced. “There was an unfortunate incident earlier this year when a member of one of the cooperatives was hit by a stray bullet. Thankfully, he made a full recovery. Producers and cooperatives are adapting the best way they can, and focusing on what they can control.”
Paving a Path Forward
Organized by CongoAgri and African Coffee Connect, Best of Congo Cooperatives will symbolize a resurgence of Congolese coffee—what Jim Ngokwey calls the coffee world’s “best-kept secret.” As the event approaches, he’s focused on supporting the organizers and sharing the participating cooperatives’ coffees more widely across the world.
“The most exciting thing is that people that have never tasted Congolese coffee before will get to do so,” Jim tells Barista Magazine. “Those that attend will get to taste great coffee and experience a bit of Congolese culture.”
And for those wondering how to support coffee farmers in the DRC, African Coffee Connect co-founder Richard Hide says that one of the best things you can do is simply buy their coffee.
“Buying even a small lot of coffee from the auction is the best and most tangible support right now,” Richard says. “Further out, there will be opportunities to partner with individual cooperatives over the long-term. Our hope is to make and then nurture these connections.”
He also emphasizes that Best of Congo Cooperatives isn’t just about tasting great coffee—it’s about Congolese farmers paving a pathway to the future. “The coffees speak for themselves in the cup, but what is less obvious is the spirit and determination of the farmers,” he says. “They have produced these coffees in the most stressful of circumstances, and the impact of buying them can be literally life-changing.”
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