Nestled in Tanzania’s coffee-growing highlands, Iyenga AMCOS (Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society) has become a compelling example of how smallholder farmers can work together to achieve remarkable results. Founded following the Tanzanian Cooperative Act of 2003, the cooperative today has 193 registered members and collects coffee from more than 500 farmers. Most cultivate just one to two hectares (5 acres) of land, with no farm exceeding five hectares (12 acres) in size.
Despite the small scale of individual farms, Iyenga has built an efficient collection system that helps preserve coffee quality from harvest to processing. While most members live within walking distance of the washing station, the cooperative organizes trucks and motorbikes during harvest season to collect coffee cherries from farms up to 10 kilometers away. This ensures all cherries are pulped within eight hours of harvest, a critical factor in maintaining cup quality.
At the heart of the operation is a government-granted Penagos UCBE 500 pulper, an eco-efficient machine that runs each evening from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., just as the sun sets. Designed to conserve water, the pulper is especially valuable in a region where water access remains one of the cooperative’s greatest challenges. Annual meetings frequently include discussions about long-term solutions, such as creating rainwater reservoirs or damming a nearby river.
Iyenga’s elected board has earned a reputation for strong management, demonstrated through its organized collection services and commitment to processing standards. Having established a solid operational foundation, the cooperative is now focused on elevating quality even further. That dedication was recognized in 2019 when Iyenga won the Taste of Harvest Competition with its AA and PB coffees. Today, efforts are focused on expanding drying bed capacity, a key step toward increasing drying times and unlocking even greater quality potential in the years ahead. Alongside funding sanitation and local entrepreneurship initiatives for women, our purchasing team looks forward to supporting expanded drying bed capacity to further improve coffee quality in the future.
