Back in 2020, we launched our Good Coffee Doing Good program with the belief that coffee can be a force for meaningful change in our communities. Our very first partnership was with the Long Miles Coffee Project in Burundi, supporting their Trees For Kibira (TFK) initiative.
Since then, we’ve worked together on two further projects (2023 & 2024), raising over A$15,000 to support tree planting, soil regeneration, and their innovative Biogas Project.
Five years on, we’re proud to be renewing our partnership in 2025. This year, we’re pledging $5,000 to Long Miles’ Coffee Scouts Initiative—a project that equips young Burundians to guide and support farmers, improve coffee quality, and strengthen futures for their families and communities.
For every kilo of our Burundi Gishubi coffee sold, we’ll donate $10 directly to Long Miles to support their Coffee Scouts project.
Heza Washing Station on Gishubi Hill in the Kayanza province of Burundi.
Founded by American couple Ben and Kristy Carlson, Long Miles Coffee was born in the lush coffee producing country of Burundi, East Africa. All over Burundi, Ben and Kristy saw farmers being taken advantage of by a broken coffee system, with poor farming practices also keeping farmers in poverty. They saw an opportunity to improve people’s lives by improving the quality of the coffee they produced.
While dreaming of great coffee and a better future for farmers, they built their first washing station in 2013 and second station ‘Heza’ the following year in the small sub region of Nkonge Hill. They also planted their first coffee farm - an encouragement to the hundreds of small holding farmers in the surrounding area.
Today, Long Miles has grown beyond Nkonge Hill and even Burundi, with Ben and Kristy spearheading sustainability and community-building projects in both Kenya and Uganda, as well.
Left: Ripe coffee cherries that were freshly picked off the tree. Right: Trees For Kibira trees planted at the base of Nkonge Hill.
Burundian farmers are constantly facing challenges in planting any additional fruit trees to increase their yield, due to limited land size and square meterage. To overcome this, Long Miles Coffee Project created Trees For Kibira, a tree-planting endeavour, with aims to plant green belts of trees around every hill in Burundi where coffee is grown. This helps sew nutrients back into the soil, resulting in healthier coffee trees, rejuvenated farms and more sustainable farming practices.
TFK also place a large emphasis on educating their coffee growing community through their Coffee Scouts program. Together with Epa Ndikumana, Social and Environmental Impact Leader at Long Miles, the Coffee Scouts have formed Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to equip any interested farmers with the resources, support, or encouragement that they need to continue growing coffee.
As a result, farmers have experienced a five-fold increase in coffee production and witness improvements in other crops such as corn, beans, and bananas. This increase in yield directly results in more income for the farmers. This regenerative farming approach emphasises companion planting and recognizes the importance of investing in soil health, beyond just tree planting. Every tree that TFK plant contributes to the creation of a diverse and native ecosystem.
The LCMP Coffee Scouts pictured with their local farmers.
At the centre of Long Miles’ vision for a better coffee future are the Coffee Scouts. This team of 26 young Burundians live and work on the coffee hills. They are trusted guides and partners for farming families, helping to bridge the gap between scientific agronomy and everyday practice in the field.
Each Coffee Scout works with a group of farmers in their local community. They provide hands-on training, monitor crop health, and share techniques that improve productivity and quality. They also run demonstration plots—small model farms where anyone can come to learn, practice, and experiment.
Their work is broad and ongoing. Coffee Scouts provide:
Support for farmers during harvest with training on selective picking and processing;
Help manage pests like the antestia bug, which causes the potato defect in coffee;
Planting of indigenous shade trees and preparing nurseries for new seedlings;
Teaching of communities about mulching, composting, and fertilising to restore soil health;
Guidance on pruning cycles to keep coffee trees vigorous and productive.
The Coffee Scoutsaren’t just agricultural experts.They’re community leaders. Many of them are inspiring other young people to stay in their villages and build meaningful futures around coffee.
Left: Coffee farmers carrying coffee cherry to the Heza washing station. Right: Coffee cherry being processed at the Heza washing station.
Even with rich soil and a favourable climate, coffee farmers in Burundi face significant obstacles: unpredictable weather and shifting harvest cycles due to climate change; aging coffee trees that require renewal and replanting; threats from pests and diseases; limited access to fertilisers and farming inputs; few opportunities to diversify income beyond coffee.
These pressures can make it difficult for farmers to secure a stable livelihood, let alone invest in the future. That’s where Long Miles’ multi-layered approach comes in—combining education, practical support, and community-driven projects that ease these burdens.
Left: Pierre Nahimana and Cicilia Karorero, farmers who are supported by LMCP's Coffee Scouts initiative. Right: The houses and farmland on Gishubi hill.
The impact of the Coffee Scouts’ work is already clear. Farmers are seeing higher yields, better quality, and healthier soils. Crops like corn and bananas are thriving alongside coffee, providing both income and food security. And with more knowledge comes more confidence—farmers are empowered to make decisions, experiment, and plan ahead.
On Gishubi Hill, there is a growing sense of optimism. Families like those of Pierre Nahimana and Cicilia Karorero (pictured above) are looking to the future, and feel empowered to invest in their futures and those of their children.
We’re proud to feature Burundi Gishubi for the third year running. Previously, we’ve selected the natural processed lots, but this season it was the washed lot that stood out on the cupping table with its clarity, sweetness, and layered character.
Heza Washing Station sits perched on steep hillsides of Kayanza Province. Water from a nearby natural spring powers a gravity-fed cascade system, guiding cherry through processing, before clean parchment is carefully dried on raised beds.
With flavour notes of nectarine, pear, hazelnut and panela - it's a juicy, crisp cup guaranteed to delight. Find the link here.
LMCP's Coffee Scouts assisting and supporting local farmer in Burundi.
Through the sales of Burundi Kayanza Gishubi, we’ve pledged A$5,000 to support the Coffee Scouts project. The funds will help continue the great work of the Coffee Scouts in their communities, bringing us better quality coffee for longer.
For every kilo sold, we’re contributing $10 to this project.
For us, Good Coffee Doing Good has always been about connection. Connecting growers and drinkers, impact and enjoyment, quality and care. By supporting Long Miles Coffee Project and their Coffee Scouts, we’re investing in the future of coffee growing in Burundi.
Purchase Burundi Gishubi here.
Find out more about Long Miles Coffee Project here.
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