Mount Sunzu
Mbala, Zambia
Mount Sunzu is a coffee producer that operates in northern Zambia, near the country's highest mountain, Mount Mafinga.
Founded in 2018, Mount Sunzu aims to combine coffee quality with environmental sustainability through careful planning and modern technology.
Left to right: Founders Luca Costa, Fridolin Stoker & Yanik Costa
Mount Sunzu timeline
2018
Mount Sunzu Coffee Limited is established in Zambia.
2019
The purchase of 780 hectares of land in Northern Zambia is finalised.
2020
The team focuses on infrastructure improvements like roads, bridges, and farm buildings. Construction of the first seedling nursery begins.
2021
The first and second nurseries are completed, and the irrigation system of Field A is installed.
2022
Field A is successfully planted with 320,000
coffee seedlings. Field B is fitted with an irrigation system and planted with cover crop.
2023
Field B is fully planted with seedlings. A warehouse is constructed to store green coffee, and solar panels are installed to power houses and the site's water pump.
2024
The fly season produces Mount Sunzu's first harvest and is used as a chance to refine processes. The team are therefore ready when the main harvest hits, the outcome being their first lots of green coffee.
Mount Sunzu facts and figures
Region
Mbala
Latitude
-9.051522000744031
Longitude
31.529733973547952
Farming Altitude
1600 m.a.s.l
Founders
Luca Costa, Fridolin Stocker, Yanik Costa
Employees
120 full time workers, 120 seasonal workers
Varietals
Starmaya, Marsellesa
Established
2018 (Zambian entity), 2021 (Swiss entity)
The future of coffee farming in Africa
There is an ageing farmer problem across Africa; many smallholder coffee farmers are growing old, and their children want to pursue jobs in the cities that will earn them more money.
​
Many producers (i.e. processing stations that buy cherries from hundreds of small farmers) are thinking about what the future of coffee production will look like, one prevalent idea being that of the estate model, which is already popular within other coffee producing countries like Brazil and Columbia.
​
​Mount Sunzu went into planning their site with this model in mind, wanting to create an operation that offers workers a fair living wage which may not be attainable through small-scale farming. Furthermore, they are eager to share the details of their work with others so as to become an example of efficient and sustainable coffee farming.
