Kenya is a land of contrasts. Those are the words of Vava Angwenyi, founder of Vava Coffee Ltd., a vertically integrated export and social benefit company based in Nairobi. The contrasts are striking, both geographically and within the coffee industry. The country spans grasslands, deserts, forests, vast mountain ranges with unique microclimates, and even beaches along the seafront. At the same time, coffee—one of Kenya’s agricultural cornerstones—embodies its own set of extremes.

Kenyan coffees are highly regarded, consistently earning top cupping scores, higher prices in the global market, and admiration for their complex flavor profiles. Yet many smallholder farmers still live below the poverty line. Reports from the Global Living Wage Coalition and other sources highlight that, despite the global demand for Kenyan coffee, many producers earn far less than a viable income. Two-thirds of Kenya’s coffee is produced by smallholders, but fewer than half operate at a sustainable level. This disparity reveals how difficult it can be for roasters and buyers to understand the true dynamics of the global coffee landscape.

This is why sourcing values matter. They provide accountability, education, and a framework for intentional purchasing. For roasters, they’re a way to move beyond the surface of specialty coffee—to appreciate both terroir and cup profile as well as the deeper, less visible realities of social sustainability. The history of coffee trade has long perpetuated cycles of poverty, making it vital for today’s industry to push back against those structures.

Vava Angwenyi has seen these dynamics from every angle. A producer, exporter, and movement leader, she left Kenya as a young woman to pursue higher education, thanks to her parents’ commitment to their children’s futures. With a background in economics and mathematics, she found her passion in coffee even before completing her studies. Her master’s thesis, an attempt to build better coffee data, showed her how difficult progress could be. Since then, she has used her training as a researcher to spread awareness, emphasizing that knowledge is power for every actor in the supply chain.

Through Vava Coffee Ltd., she works to provide education and tools for producers, with a focus on women and young people. Her work extends beyond business: she co-founded Gente del Futuro, a hybrid social impact enterprise created in partnership with Colombian coffee professionals. This initiative underscored the strength of transnational collaboration, building networks that resist systems benefitting from isolation. For Vava, coffee is a tool for change:

“The people in this country—and specifically in this community—have great potential. They just need a little help in certain areas, like a boost of confidence and someone who believes in them enough to invest. So, we decided to invest in the people and the homes where we are from. If you are operating in a community whose resources you are utilizing, it only makes sense to give back in some way. One way is employment, but another is generating money that circulates within that community and creates more opportunities. It will help your business in the end, too. Women must also be one another’s greatest advocates. Changing a patriarchal system is tough work, but joint conversations and giving everyone a seat at the table is the way forward.”

Kenya’s coffee trade functions primarily in two ways: through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, a weekly auction, and through direct transactions with foreign buyers. It has taken Vava years to build partnerships with hundreds of smallholder farmers across Kenya’s diverse growing regions. Along the way, she has had to work both within and against the patriarchal norms of the system, pushing for better incomes for producers while creating the tools they need to access them.

Her work in the Kapkiyai Cooperative offers a vivid example of gender equity driving progress. A decade ago, Kapkiyai’s 38 members were all men. Although women played critical roles—harvesting cherries, carrying loads, and tending farms—they had no decision-making power and reaped none of the profits.

That began to change in 2010 when the cooperative received training emphasizing gender inclusion. Gradually, the cooperative recognized that women, as the ones caring for families and working daily on the farms, needed to be part of the business. A general meeting led to the Kapkiyai Women in Coffee Resolution, granting women the right to be full contributing members. Many husbands gave their wives a portion of their coffee trees, and membership grew.

By 2015, 106 of 398 members were women, producing 55,000 kilograms of coffee cherries. Their contributions helped fund an eco-pulper capable of processing 1,500 kilograms per hour. “Without women, we would not have this machine,” said Chairman David Saina. Women also began rising into leadership roles, such as Dorcas Jeptanui, chair of the Women in Coffee group and a member of the cooperative’s management committee.

In 2018, the women launched the region’s first Fairtrade-certified women-only coffee, an initiative Vava Coffee proudly supported. As part of the project, women and men received training in Good Agricultural Practices, which raised yields from 1.8 to 3 kilograms of cherry per bush. The quality improved as well, with premium grades (AA, AB, PB) increasing from 25% to more than 70% of production.