Businde is a community washing station (CWS) that's been in operation since 2011. In its second year of operation, it was awarded the COE (Cup of Excellence) for the country of Burundi. This is the top prize awarded throughout coffee-producing countries. Businde has been in the top 5 numerous times.

The region surrounding Businde has numerous villages where locals produce coffee in their backyards. The coffee cultivated in these villages are fascinating to see. The majority of the plants surrounding homes and mixed with other agricultural crops, are utilized for day to day consumption. With very little access to pesticides or artificial fertilizers, these plants all thrive with a very jungle-like appearance. Businde has begun a program where they disperse coffee pulp for fertilizers and seedlings to nearby farms.

The coffee grown in Burundi is mostly grown in backyard gardens and small plot farms. On these farms, a mix of plant species grow in harmony and, at different times in the year, come into ripeness. In the western world, this is called agro-forestry, where all the crops work in a symbiotic manner and provide different nutrients for the soils and for one another. On our last visit we saw coffee planted among mangos, avocado, citrus, squash, etc. A very natural and very organic style of farming.

Near Businde is a Twa village, which is the least populated of the ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi, after the Hutu and Tutsi. In Rwanda, these ethnic groups are no longer acknowledged and all citizens are Rwandese. In Burundi, there is still segregation amongst ethnic groups. Twa communities are amongst the poorest when it comes to wealth inequality. Businde CWS works with the Twa Village and purchases their coffees at the same rates as other nearby communities.

Zuberi Matsitsi, the owner of Businde CWS, is a very generous man. We have spent time together in Burundi in 2018 and 2019, as well as attended a wedding of a mutual friend that occurred in India in early 2020. Zuberi is very focused on growing volumes, sustainably, while paying the local farmers a premium for their cherries, producing only the top quality coffee on the market. This year, he paid producers a premium that was 20% above the local market's. His staff also received 60% higher wages.