Coffee that tastes good AND does good.
Dave Bishop is the award winning coffee producer overseeing the Zukuka Bora project in Uganda. He has been volunteering his time to Zukuka Bora for over 5 years, ensuring that the coffee farmers of Mt Elgon are resourced, trained, and of course have access to the highest prices in the country. He was recently recognised as one of the 20 most influential coffee people in the world by the Sprudge 20. He is a legend in the true sense of the word.
Here are his thoughts on the latest harvest with Zukuka Bora in Sipi Falls, the very place that ‘Good Coffee Day’ is raising funds to purchase land.
Enjoy 🤟
Wow, so that’s another harvest season in the books. The first picking was way back in September last year, the last in February this year, and we waved bye to the containers at the end of March.
One thing we’ve learnt along the way is that every season is unique.
We’re only five seasons in to what will be hopefully be a long story, but it’s already true to say that each and every season has been challenging and beautiful in its own way.
We continue to be amazed by the support of Commonfolk, The Cup That Counts and all their customers, who have directly invested into this life-changing work. From producing 250kg in our first season, to more than 28,000kg this season; from partnering with a handful of coffee-farming families, to now almost 2,000; from engaging and employing two people, to now over 100 in harvest season…it’s been quite a ride!
It’s a perhaps over-used analogy, but the ripple effect of Commonfolk’s vision back in 2015 gets bigger and bigger by the year. Lives are being changed for the better and confidence in coffee as a rewarding endeavour is returning for thousands living across Mt Elgon.
It’s thrilling to hear how you guys enjoy our coffee, it’s truly a labour of love, but it really makes us satisfied to hear how the connoisseurs of Victoria rate The Unicorn, Jose Chameleone, and our other coffees. We have never wanted people to support us or drink our coffee out of ‘charity’. We want our work to stand on its own two feet in the marketplace, we want people to get a taste of just how great Ugandan coffee can be.
Sipi Falls site manager, Kenneth, and the chairman of the Sipi farmers discuss Commonfolk’s support. See translation below.
“Aaah… Company of Zukuka, as the chairman of this place, including the farmers of Tagwen, and Kabemwa (Sipi Falls). We thank you so much for the good things you have done for us. 1. Buying our coffee at a good price, 2. Training farmers. Above all we thank you so much for bringing Zukuka Co to Tagwen parish, Kabemwa sub-country, Silimityo village and thanks to all the bosses/ directors of Zukuka for the good work. We want the work to go on, we work together and farmers continue to be happy as you brought the company. Me as the chairman and farmers are so excited, me as the chairman Silimityo thank the manager you have given to us, (Ken) the work he has done for us -good work, and the friendship he has with the farmers. Those are my last words”
So where next from here?
Well, first up we’re excited to announce that with your help we will be purchasing a plot of land in beautiful Sipi Falls! This is a big, big step and hugely significant for us and the team of 600+ coffee-farming families we currently work with. The Sipi region has consistently delivered some of our best coffee – I believe it currently features in Commonfolk’s Jose Chameleone coffee – but until now we have not had a permanent base.
Securing a permanent site is huge for so many reasons…it gives confidence to our current – and hopefully new – farmers, that we are here for the long term. The coffee industry in Uganda has been rife with challenges for so long, meaning so many farmers have either lost confidence in producing coffee altogether, or are wary of investing time and money into improving their coffee. This step will have a ripple effect across Sipi Falls and will show that we are serious, that farmers can be confident of the improved prices, bonuses and year-round support that we will deliver year-on-year.
We have no doubt that this will lead to improvements in quality and yield – both of which are only good for our farmers.
The site we plan to buy also has some wonderful coffee, which will serve both as a demonstration of what a well-maintained coffee garden can look like and yield, and as a very special single-farm microlot – something very, very rare in Mt Elgon where almost all coffee is grown on small-holder land. So we’ll be having plenty of interaction with our farmers through the year at our new home! Kenneth, our fabulous site manager, is keen to use the site as a base for some experimental processing next season, its high elevation and cool climate make it ideal for some unique trials. We’ll keep you posted. We’ll also host a tree nursery from where we can distribute hundreds of thousands of wonderful shade trees to our farmers, which help improve the coffee, but more importantly protect this incredible, but fragile, ecosystem on which so, so many people depend.
The land also has a very special view, looking down from over 2,000m to the plains below. It’s wonderful! We hope to construct a guest house towards the top of the site where we can host visitors, roasters, as well as being a quiet retreat for the team in the off-season. When travel restrictions ease, we can’t wait to host you!
So, that’s the plan…or at least one of them! There are many other initiatives and ideas bubbling, but this is our #1 priority.
You can help buy heading to a participating venue on Friday 11th June and buying a coffee to support GOOD COFFEE DAY and the Zukuka Bora team. We’re aiming to raise 13K to fund the entire purchase price for the plot of land in Sipi Falls.
We’re incredibly thankful and excited that The Cup that Counts – YOU! – are directly contributing to this significant step for Zukuka Bora and our partner farmers in Sipi. It feels like we’re literally and figuratively putting a marker down in the ground, and it just seems so right that we’re doing it in partnership with you! Thank you all for being such a huge part of this story so far…here’s to many more fruitful years delivering real change in this corner of Uganda…