New push to promote dignity in Kenya's coffee trade

Since its introduction to Kenya in 1893, coffee has still been one of the country’s most significant agricultural exports.

The crop is grown in 33 counties, largely by smallholder farmers who account for about 70 per cent. This sector supports about 1.5 million households either directly or indirectly.

For decades, however, coffee has largely been viewed as a cash crop, often a commodity measured in kilograms delivered to cooperative societies, deductions applied, and payments issued. The social realities of the farmers behind the beans have often remained invisible.

In Mathira, Central Kenya, this narrative is beginning to take a new twist. A group of farmers, who double up as caregivers for children with Celebral Palsy, are exploring ways to collectively market their coffee and seek direct exports as opposed to selling through cooperative societies. 

The Cerebral Palsy Warriors Family (CP-Warriors) is a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) founded in 2021, and brings together caregivers of children living with cerebral palsy (CP).

“We once approached someone for help to buy diapers for our children,” recalls Esther Kariuki, the group’s founder, adding that most of these caregivers are women. The CBO has a membership of 66, out of whom 43 are women.

Instead of just offering support, the ‘good Samaritan’ encouraged them to explore ways of accessing the coffee market directly so that, in caring for their children, they could also build their own sustainable source of income.

For many of these families, caregiving is full-time work. Beyond the physical demands, they face stigma, blame, and social isolation.

“When my son was born with cerebral palsy, some family members blamed me for not completing dowry processes properly. Others said it was witchcraft. Society called it a curse,” says Nichodemous Muchangi, the CBO’s chairperson, adding, “Through this group, I learned that I am not alone and that no one is to blame.”

For farmers like Agnes Wanjiku, caregiving and farming happen side by side. She wakes up early to care for her 14-year-old son before tending to her nearby coffee farm. Still, she has to keep on checking on him constantly throughout the day.

The costs of diapers, medication, therapy, and transport to health facilities are high and relentless.

Godfrey Wanjohi, who has two children with cerebral palsy, describes the strain: “Taking care of one child with cerebral palsy is like caring for four children at once. Yet, unlike the normal children, those with CP never outgrow parental care.”

Like many coffee farmers, he had nearly abandoned coffee due to low and unpredictable returns. However, the new opportunity is restoring hope.

Through the support of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, under the GIZ-funded DIASCA project, and in collaboration with the Kenya Coffee Platform, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (NKPCU), the Co-operative Bank of Kenya and the Government of Kenya, the CP-Warriors are piloting a groundbreaking model of social inclusion in coffee marketing.

At the heart of this innovation is a marketing mark, an exclusive indication of coffee sourced from People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs). While there have been other certifications, such as environmental and labour, which have long shaped the global markets, the PLWD certification is not just different but an initiative towards inclusion.

“This introduces a short code – ‘Impact PWD' – attached to coffee lots produced by the CP-Warriors initiative. It is not just about the cash; it is also about inclusion,” says Brian King, Senior Manager, Technology Integration-Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.

The code will appear in the lot information when the coffee goes to auction at NCE, signalling to traders that the coffee carries a verified social benefit, having been produced by families caring for PLWDs.

“When traders receive samples, they know they’re receiving coffee linked to a specific social impact,” King explains. “When it goes to auction, that code tells a story.”

The expectation is that this visibility will help the coffee fetch better prices, not as charity, but as value-added differentiation within the market system.

The support provided by the Alliance and partners has focused on building market linkages, strengthening commercialisation capacity, and embedding the mark within existing trading systems at the NCE.

By formalising the ‘impact mark’ within official catalogues and trading systems, the initiative aims to normalise social inclusion as part of coffee quality and identity.

“If we can prove it works, we can replicate it, Impact-PWD today. Impact-Women tomorrow. Impact-Youth. So long as the mark is backed by credible information,” notes King.

For the NCE, this initiative represents a structural shift in how value is communicated in markets. Managing Director Lisper Ndungu emphasises that the Exchange’s role goes beyond auctioning coffee. Says she, “We are not just a trading platform; we manage settlements, quality systems, and the integrity of the trading process. If we want inclusion to work, it must be embedded within the official system.”

According to Lisper, integrating the ‘IMPACT-PWD’ mark into the Exchange’s catalogue ensures transparency and credibility. Buyers can clearly identify lots associated with a verified social benefit. “This creates visibility,” she says. “When traders see the code in the catalogue, they understand there is a story and an impact behind that coffee,” she says.

The NCE sees potential for such marks to attract premiums, particularly as global markets increasingly value traceability and impact. By associating their coffee with a recognised social benefit, the farmers have an opportunity to establish themselves not just as producers, but as contributors to a broader social transformation.”

“If we open space for special groups within the market system, we encourage improvements in infrastructure, accessibility, and how institutions think about participation,” she says, adding that agriculture must reflect the society it serves.

She expressed optimism that this pilot could influence broader policy conversations, embedding inclusion within trading rules, documentation systems, and regulatory frameworks.

What began as a quest to buy diapers has evolved into a model that could reshape how the coffee value chain thinks about social inclusion.