Rwanda - Horizon

Not far from sister station Maraba is the Horizon station, found in the neighbouring Kigoma sector, The site is just 20km from Huye the main city in the area and nearby to the small town of Simbi.

Since the owner Fidel is not originally from the area, he had to win the support and trust of the locals. Fortunately, he was able to do so and the station has become a positive addition to the community in the work it provides for the local people. 94 people are employed by the station with 4 full-time. 70% of staff are women.

Horizon must be one of the most beautiful sites in the Southern Province. The small 3 hectare area sits long in the valley with steep slopes surrounding it. Pineapples grow on the verges and avocado trees line the walk down to the site.

It sits at 1680 metres but the farms surrounding the station are much higher up, closer to 2000 metres. 1200 farmers contribute cherry to the station from farms that are all within 2km from the site.

The average farm size is 7000 trees (3ha), and some have only 100 trees, amongst other crops. In 2019, the first year production restarted, the station processed 450 tons of cherry. Total production for 2023 was estimated at 800 tons but due to bureaucracy ceasing production during the height of the season this was not reached. The station is hoping to continually grow to support the local community.

During the off season Fidel had been allocating part of the land near the station to pasture where four cows were grazing, he is planning to slowly increase the number of cows for two main purpose, firstly they are planning to use the dung as supplement to add to the organic compost the station produce to distribute to the farmers, the second reason is for dairy production, he aim to supply milk regularly to the local farmers community and to the families of the seasonal workers.

All 1200 farmers are members of the ATP. Farmers receive organic fertiliser from the station consisting of recycled cherry pulp, which is fermented with lime and molasses to create EM2.