The Gashonga Coffee Cooperative, also known as Cocagyi, is located in Butambamo sector, Gashonga District of the Cyangugu Province.  Created in 1998 by coffee growers of the former municipality of Gishoma, it currently claims 614 members, 168 of which are women.

The cooperative is governed through a highly transparent democratic process.  The organization is structured to give equal representation to each sector represented in the cooperative.  Final authority over the cooperative rests with a general council, which is composed of three representatives from each of 12 sectors.  The general council entrusts most decisions to a board of directors comprised of 12 persons, one from each sector in the cooperative.  A general manager is selected by the board of directors to handle the day-to-day operations of the cooperative.

In 2003, the cooperative built a washing station with the help of its major partners (Project PEARL, USAID, and OCIR Café).  Construction of the Gashonga washing station was accompanied by the training of cooperative members in coffee production.  Members of the cooperative were taught how to cultivate and process high-quality coffee by OCIR Café and ISAR.

The Gashonga Cooperative is an asset for one of Rwanda's most important coffee-producing districts.  Gashonga district has 2-2.5 million coffee trees, and several large coffee plantations.  The largest plantation in the cooperative has 5000 trees, a substantial size for Rwanda.

Last year, Gashonga washing station bought approximately 40,158 kg of cherries to produce 8 tons of parchment paper.  Following the construction of the washing station, coffee growing in the region has improved dramatically.

The Gashonga Cooperative is built on the principle of economic and environmental sustainability.  With the help of PEARL Project, the Gashonga Cooperative is exploring the possibility of financing its next harvest with a low-interest loan from a nonprofit, thereby drastically increasing its profitability.