At the ECC Midwinter Conference in Denver this year, the Paul Carlson Partnership team hosted a lunch for pastors and leaders to learn about a new opportunity in Congo to address poverty: the Karawa Coffee Project. This new economic development initiative seeks to revitalize the coffee industry in northwest Congo with goals to: 

• reduce extreme poverty
• enhance food security
• build the local economy, and
• develop effective agricultural practices.

In 2017, the Covenant Church of Congo and Paul Carlson Partnership came together to discuss how coffee could be revitalized in the Karawa region. After detailed surveys were completed and agreements were made, a triad partnership was formed: the Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM), Café Africa DRC, and Paul Carlson Partnership. With the help of a very generous donor to kick-start the project, the Karawa Coffee Project officially launched in December 2017.

Coffee production and export used to be a major cash crop in Congo before civil wars and coffee wilt disease destroyed the economy and many farms. What once was a source of income that many families relied upon, became only a memory. Some coffee trees survived, but exporting large quantities of coffee was no longer possible. Studies show that Robusta coffee (the variety grown in Karawa) is trending toward steady growth over the next few decades. By training and equipping people to cultivate and export coffee, the local economy can be revitalized, increasing the livelihoods of thousands of families in the area.