Friends & Family,
“Slow work takes time” is how a friend once referred to the pace of his home renovation project. When Karen and I first learned it would take 14 months to complete construction of the Virunga Mountain Spirits distillery/agro-tourism site we were stunned.
“Look,” said our architect, “think about it like a triangle. One side is cost, another is time and a third is scope. Quality is in the center. That’s the triple constraint theory. There are constant tradeoffs among the three, depending on your priorities.”
Constructing a 1000 sqm building with hand-carved lava stone, glass and steel fit for the purpose of producing alcohol is not easy, coupled with a beautiful tasting room, gift shop and commercial kitchen.
Stainless steel pipes, with pressure reducing valves, dozens of gauges, bends and fittings connected to our steam boiler are now welded into place.
Our 2.5 ton chiller pumps cool water to the jackets of each piece of equipment to maintain the desired temperature during the distilling process. All pipe leaks have been addressed.
It’s done. The picture here give you a glimpse of the results based on Bruce Engel’s extraordinary design.
Two weeks ago, close to fifteen months after breaking ground, we received our occupancy permit from the District and our Premise License from the Rwanda Food & Drug Authority (RFDA). We have completed 99 percent of the requirements for a Good Manufacturing Permit (GMP). Last week we delivered two bottles of Kari Vodka to RFDA with our application for Product Registration.
Nine hundred kilograms of small ‘unloved’ potatoes were delivered from Winnaz Crisps/Hollanda Fairfoods to make our first batches of Kari Vodka. Sample bottles have been tested by a local lab and will be retested by RFDA as part of the licensing process. We will spend the next few weeks hosting special guests from the tourism and hospitality sector and organizing tasting panels to perfect our product. Kari Vodka sales will begin thereafter, once our product registration is finalized and we have an excise tax stamp from the Rwanda Revenue Authority.
As Karen is fond of saying; “It’s go-time.”
The Kinigi Grill is also in start up mode. Our commercial kitchen sports six high pressure burners under a newly fabricated steel exhaust hood. Our polished concrete counters form a large rectangular island atop eight good size cabinets where Chef Theogene is testing his field- to-fork menu complemented by a commercial smoker we imported from Dar es Salaam. It sits just outside the kitchen and the nearby demonstration farm.
Chef Theogene joined us after spending five years as Sous Chef at the celebrated Singita Kwitonda Lodge, a top destination that abuts Volcano National Park. I have often thought of myself as an accomplished home cook. It was a humbling experience to watch a culinary artist at work when we hosted our first guests. Theo’s mushroom bruschetta topped with basil pesto arugula and thinly sliced radishes were a huge hit. We also served ‘Bill’s smoked chicken.’ Our furniture maker gave us a large bag of olive wood scraps that burn slowly and produce a savory smoke which is working well, according to early reviews.
We have also made a handful of exceptional hires: an Experience Manager, a Quality Assurance Associate, a Chief Accountant and professional interns to support production. We’ve made good on our commitment to be a ‘female forward’ enterprise, with most key positions held by women. Our team is entirely Rwandan, with the exception of our master distiller from South Africa, who is leading on staff training and initial production.
Some of you may know that on September 27th, the Rwanda public health service alerted WHO of an outbreak of the Marburg virus, a deadly hemorrhagic fever. We feel safe. Rwanda has a robust public health system that immediately implemented prevention best practices and intensive contact tracing and testing. There are now only two active cases. Many public events were postponed, including the 20th annual gorilla naming ceremony, Kwita Izina.
We expect the CDC to soon revise its travel guidance in recognition of the current status of the outbreak. Thank you for the many notes of concern.
All the best,
Bill