Last week I traveled three hours south to help our senior business advisors administer the second payment scheme. It is a shame that I only got to get out to the field so late in my stay because this is really where it all takes place, where everything that one is doing in the office comes to life and ultimately what the entire project is about. The second payment was recently introduced by Technoserve to make sure greater premiums paid for washed coffees make their way back to the farmer. Farmers deliver their coffee cherry to the wet mill/cooperative and are [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend a friend invited a few people to stay at his house in Lake Muhazi. Two Land Cruisers filled with paraffin lamps and a few crates of beer later we found ourselves in paradise. Upon arrival I was instantly smacked with that feeling of 'oh my word, how am I possibly going to describe this beauty, this moment to people who have not experienced it directly'. The answer is I wont, pictures tell half the story and words even less...just take my word for it, it was breath taking. Accommodation was pretty basic; a small room with a few beds [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend there was a music festival here sponsored by one of the local breweris; Mutzig. There was live music, (actually one of my friends was playing in the band), brochettes (beef kebab - the staple out here) and of course unlimited amounts of beer. And all of this for only FR5,000 (c.6/7GBP) - bargain! The venue was about 30 mins drive from the city center and they arranged a free shuttle service. I was quite surprised at how well organised everything was and I must say it really was a great night out. I guess the pics speak for themselves...... [View Full Entry]

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I have written before about the novelty factor, the stares, the pointing and the fascination the locals have with foreigners in Rwanda. Well usually it really doesn bother me and in fact have relished the celebrity like status I have managed to earn in East Africa. However as the mainstream media tells us, even celebs become tired of being in the spotlight and this one is no exception; let me take you on a journey over the edge. Earlier this week I decided to go to gym during lunch break for the first time and I had the rather fortunate experience [View Full Entry]

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The past weekend was a religious holiday in Ethiopia. Meskel is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Eleni (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. The day is spent preparing for the evening service where people gather firewood for their bonfires, buy daisies for decorative purposes and typically dress in white clothing. It is generally a peaceful and spiritual occurrence however the night swiftly turns into an excuse for a piss up and raucous fire dance....pretty scary stuff! The main event occurred in Meskel square where thousands of Ethi [View Full Entry]

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Not a drop to drink. Ethiopia is considered the birthplace of coffee and legend has it that Kaldi the shepherd first discovered the effects of the illusive drink in the ancient province of Kaffa when his goats became strangely hyperactive after feasting on the red cherry. Nevertheless, despite its heritage and reputation as one of the world’s finest producers, the coffee in Ethiopia leaves a lot to be desired. There is a good reason for this which is that it is illegal to sell any coffee that is above a certain quality domestically as these coffees are reserved for the export [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday I joined a local gym which is another great example of something that is seemingly insignificant to most of my readers but a fascinating experience in East Africa. Avoiding the usual expat trap, I decided to boycott the more expensive Novotel Hotel gym and opt for the real deal; local, cheap, smelly and certainly authentic..grrrr. My gym is part of the national football stadium (Amohoro) which is just up the road from my house and costs a grand total of 22 GBP per month. Entering the weights arena for the first time was pretty intimidating. After overcoming the usual stares [View Full Entry]

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Yup you guessed it, this is the part where I talk about how much I appreciate all of the things I used to take for granted. The concept really hit home when I found myself stuffing my ruck sack with as much French wine and Swiss chocolate as was physically possible at Entebbe international. In fact, there was something quite romantic about it, akin to the soldier returning to the front line bringing luxuries from foreign lands. Here is a list all of the things which are not easily accessible here: Food Vegetables (beyond flaccid carrots and prune like green peppers) [View Full Entry]

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The title is not an exact reflection of what this post is about but as it develops so will you begin to understand.....let us begin. This weekend was a spontaneous decision to fly to Uganda for the weekend and add some spice to the entree. Myself and three colleagues ducked off work an hour early on Friday to catch the 6:45 flight to Entebbe, Kampala. It was actually a fantastic flight, left on time, good service which are both nearly impossible to come by around here. Sat next to a very interesting lady on the plane who used to work for [View Full Entry]

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For those of who you may be from the coffee world and reading this, here is a little more on the actual work that I’m doing here. For those of you who are not, well at worst you will be bored by this and at best you may learn a little something. The first project is an analysis of the effectiveness of The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange. The exchange was launched in April of 2008 in an effort to improve the former auction system for coffee and other commodities such as grains and sesame. Conceptualized and managed by one extraordinary lady, Dr. [View Full Entry]

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