Not Just a Cup, but a Just Cup: Ugandan Farmers Cross Religious Divides

Long before the story of Mirembe Kawomera had reached the ears of both Rita and Rabbi Larry, an Abayudada Jew named JJ Keki traveled within his local community, knocking on doors of his neighbors, asking them to put aside their differences to join together to form a unique partnership. "...the cooperative movement had lost direction in the country for over a decade,” said Keki. “With the farmers they were fragmented, each one was for his or herself…I had the foresight of improving the lives of the farmers, the majority whom I lead.”

For three years the growing cooperative struggled, until finally in 2005, they had a warehouse full of Ugandan coffee waiting to be sold. Laura Wetzler, of the Jewish NGO Kulano in Washington, D.C., saw something in the vision of JJ Keki, and spent numerous hours on the phone with coffee roasters in the United States looking for a buyer for the coffee. After over forty rejections, Laura reached Paul Katzeff of Thanksgiving Coffee, who was intrigued to hear of Jews, Muslims, and Christians working together, in Uganda of all places. He flew to Uganda to meet the farmers and taste the coffee, and in response, said, “I’ll buy it all!”

The contract made with Thanksgiving Coffee has provided income for over 558 families and created a peaceful working environment in a country characterized by religious and tribal divides. As one farmer, Mukama Christine said, “There is love for all and hate for none as a binding motto.” Another farmer, Nakidodo Alisati, also said, “It means a lot because we see each other as people of one God…Religions are like departments of production in a factory. This means we need each other to serve humanity.”

Fair-trade prices have also made a difference for the lives of farmers, giving them more initiative to produce a better product, as well as a hope for building a financially stable life. Alisati said, “Fair-trade has given me motivation to work and improve the quality of coffee because they give fair prices.”

For many in Uganda, coffee has been the lifeline of generations of families, and improvements in the cooperative bring hope that this heritage will continue. “I got coffee being grown by my parents, it has stayed for generations and will continue to stay as a vital income for the family,” said farmer Nehemia Hasakya.

As for how the people in the cooperative work together, farmer Wotti Elisa says, “There is unity amongst the people, they have a common goal, they share responsibilities, they have a sense of community ownership of projects, and they struggle to make their programs succeed.”     

Shortly following the night Rita Semel overheard talk of Mirembe Kawomera, she proposed that URI visit the group in Uganda. Despina Namwembe, a URI representative in Kampala, traveled to meet the group, a visit which became the seed of Mirembe Kawomera’s interest in becoming a part of URI’s global community. They eventually formed their own Cooperation Circle under the name of Peace Kawomera. Since then, URI has helped to network Mirembe Kawomera to seventeen other congregations in the San Francisco Area, which support them by buying their coffee (one dollar of every purchase supports the group’s community-based projects). 

Currently, Mirembe Kawomera is only able to provide two containers (75,000 lbs.) of coffee per season, due to the fact that there are eight hand-cranked depulpers for the entire cooperative to use. Farmers and supporters alike believe that one day they will be able to expand their operations. “My hopes are that the life of coffee farmers will soon change for the better as long as the quality improves,” said farmer Fendi Aziz.

Mirembe Kawomera is currently one of six smaller cooperatives under the Gumutindo Cooperative, which consists of over 2,400 Ugandan farmers. If you would like to support Mirembe Kawomera and/or learn more about their cooperative, please visit http://www.mirembekawomera.com/