Established in 1958, Ichuga is one of four stations owned by the Kiama Farmers’ Cooperative. Managed by Stephen Kinyue, it processes coffee cherries from around 800 of Kiama’s members, whose small farms sit on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. In recent years, Stephen and the cooperative have made several important investments in the station, including upgrading to digital scales to provide farmers with more accurate assessments of their coffee cherry deliveries.
The land surrounding Ichuga is rich in biodiversity, as it lies close to the Ragati Conservatory – an 8,000-hectare protected zone of montane forest and marshes, which is home to an abundance of wildlife including elephants, buffalo and leopards. The area is also defined by its bright red, nutrient rich soil, cool climate and high elevations, which together contribute to the outstanding quality of coffees produced here.
