Interview
What is your name?
Habonimana Mariya
How old are you?
65 years old.
How many children do you have?
6 children. 2 girls, 4 boys.
Do you live on this hill and how is life here?
I live on this mountain. We live in good harmony.
When did you start coffee farming?
I have been doing it for a long time, since my father in law was doing it. I am cultivating coffee since the time that my father in law was still alive. When I got married, we found this plantation here.
Do you remember when you first were here?
No, I cannot recall that.
Why did you fall in love with coffee farming? Taking care of it?
I don’t know why I started doing it.
So how many coffee trees do you think have?
200 coffee trees.
What do you like in life apart from the coffee?
I just like coffee. I like sweet potatoes also.
What do you like about coffee farming?
I just like it.
What are some of the main challenges you have in coffee farming?
The challenges I have is to find the grasses to cover the soil.
Why is this a challenge?
The challenge is where to find the grasses, to cut them, sometimes it is too far away so it makes you tired.
Since you started coffee farming, what are the changes that you see in your life?
Many things in my life are changing slowly.
What can you show that this changed?
Sometime we get some money from the harvest and we put it somewhere and we plan what we can do with that money. Sometime you hire a land and you cultivate different crops.
What are you hopes/dreams for the future? What do you feel that you can do in the future looking at what you are doing now?
….. (no answer given)
Are your children involved in the coffee farming and are they excited about it?
Yes they are helpful.
Do you pay them?
Yes I pay them.
How much was your harvest last year?
I do not know about that because my children were the ones taking care of the harvest.
Is your name registered in the company?
No, it is my husbands name. Philip Ntemeririro.
Where is he?
He is down there in the city, trying to make a different life.
What are the grasses referred to by coffee farmers?
During dry season, farmers cut and dry long grasses, which they then put around their trees for the purpose of mulching (covering land to reduce weeds and help soil retain moisture).
Location
Images (15 Files)
Mariye Habonimana can be used for content around any of the coffees produced from the 