Hand-made | Social Enterprise
At Virunga National Park, we do our part by creating ripples of change that deliver value and opportunities to the communities and people that surround the Park. We invite you to join us. Every time you buy a Virunga Origins product, you contribute to the development of one of the most biodiverse, stunning yet insecure, places on earth. We call that double happiness.
Join our efforts to help deliver peace and prosperity for the people of eastern Congo. You’ll taste some of the best chocolate ever, created by expert chocolatiers. You’ll enjoy the finest coffee, artisanal soap, high quality chia seeds and unique, hand-made textiles and accessories. You’ll empower communities with jobs and opportunities while at the same time supporting one of the most biodiverse and important places on the planet. You’ll contribute to giving our gorillas, hippos, elephants, lions, and the millions of people that live nearby the Park, a brighter future.
Virunga Origins is made possible by our hydroelectric power plants (60MW). Electricity unlocks the power of the region and its people. With electricity, street lamps can provide security and filtration systems can pump clean water. With electricity, businesses can operate and traders can get their products to market. With electricity, we can release the creativity and entrepreneurialism of millions of people, bringing jobs and hope to future generations.
WHEN YOU DRINK A CUP OF VIRUNGA ORIGINS COFFEE, OR BITE INTO A BAR OF OUR CHOCOLATE, YOU INSTANTLY CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE. IN OUR WORLD, EVERYTHING IS TRULY CONNECTED.
Take electricity. It is one of the keys to development, providing light and power for businesses, hospitals and communities. Electricity protects trees, as they don’t need to be used for fuel. Animals thrive. Factories, workshops and small businesses flourish. Peaceful alternatives to the militia are created. People can secure work, get paid and send their children to school. Roads are paved. All of which makes it easier for the farmers’ products to get delivered to our factory, to be roasted onsite, keeping the value-add within the country. Freshly roasted coffee is then packed and distributed for your enjoyment. And the circles of positive change grow.
Virunga Park Rangers
The Park’s rangers are its heroes. They are the guardians of this unique habitat, the most biologically diverse protected area in Africa. With your help, we can support them, their families and the widows of Rangers that have tragically lost their lives defending the Park and the surrounding communities from attack. With your help, we can help to send children to school, keep youth out of the militia, preserve the forest and protect the incredible array of wildlife, flora and fauna at Virunga National Park.
Bean to Bar | Handmade
The same goes for coffee, chia, soap and textiles. Everything is done here on the periphery of Virunga National Park. All of our operations, our roasters and workshops, are right here, and all profits go back to the farmers, rangers, widows, factory workers and local communities. Double Happiness in action.
