In 2012, I set off on a mission to bring specialty coffee from my village to the world. The area of Kanungu, on the western border of Uganda, and its surrounding districts have been producing coffee for generations. Historically, all of the coffee had been sold to middlemen for $0.03 – $0.05 per pound, due to its low quality, it was labeled as “non-exportable: local consumption only”.
I set out to change that.
In partnership with groups like Temple Coffee Roasters (based in Sacramento, CA), we started by training local farmers in proper growing and harvesting techniques. Over time, our work has resulted in drastic increases in cherry quality.
We built a facility to harvest and process raw cherries into green coffee beans.
Our work is in producing coffee, however improving quality (and therefore the price point) goes far beyond just the coffee itself. Along the process of improving the quality of coffee, we have also addressed education, agricultural practices, social (family) dynamics, quality of living, and working infrastructure for local farmers. By addressing these issues, we are able to pay living wages to our farmers and offer indirect support for other projects; such as clean well water and higher education (building schools, even one accredited university) for the community.
We are excited by the work that we’ve been doing to support the local farming communities and bring high quality Uganda coffee to the world, but we are just getting started.
– Gerald K. Mbabazi