SPREAD
Butare, Rwanda
Made possible through a cooperative agreement with USAID/Rwanda.
Partnership with Michigan State University and National University of Rwanda
Twelve years ago there was nothing in Butare, Rwanda, but chaos and devastation left by the 1994 Rwandan genocie. Now there is a thriving coffee industry as a result of the innovative USAID program Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL I & II), guided by Texas A&M University and Michigan State University. The next phase, SPREAD, seeks to continue the success of the program by expanding throughout Rwanda.
The village of Butare now has a coffee-processing station, two restaurants, a pharmacy, a bank, six hair salons, and the village's first internet cafe. Growers have gained direct access to lucrative new markets and introduced international quality standards. The result is the rebirth of the coffee industry and a doubling of income for 40,000 Rwandan coffee farmers. This revitalization has helped Rwandans with the monumental task of reconciliation. For example, genocide widows work side by side with women whose husbands are in jail for participating in the killing.
Websites:
http://www.spreadproject.org/
