Coffee first came to the Rungeto area in the 1950’s. As is true in all of life, growers experienced highs and lows including the rise of the giant Ngiriama Cooperative and its eventual demise. In 1996, 1,150 members of the defunct Ngiriama Co-op came together to form the Rungeto Cooperative Society, and soon re-opened Ngiriama’s three factories (processings mills), Kii (built in 1965), Karimikui (1968), and Kaingoi (1995). Member growers bring their coffees to the mills for fresh water processing courtesy of the Kii River.
Rugeto Co-op is governed by seven board members, two of whom are elected from each mill plus one rotational member. Thanks to the excellent work of the member growers and governing board, in December 2009, Kiangoi factory earned UTZ Centre of Excellence certification.