Uganda cooperative ensures its coffee travels the world

Elvanis Nkundwa reaches up and plucks red coffee cherries from the branch of one of her coffee trees. She moves quickly and confidently through her orchard, harvesting cherries by the handful. Narrow footpaths cut between the trees; taller trees overhead provide shade and a home for the numerous birds whose songs fill the mountain air.

The shaded hills of southwestern Uganda are a natural home for coffee. Elvanis has worked on this hillside for several years producing coffee for the nearby Ankole Coffee Cooperative, which buys its coffee from several local growers.

“When the season is good, I can make two million Ugandan shillings [about $550],” she said. Uganda’s favorable climate means there will be two or sometimes three seasons each year.

Before she joined the cooperative, Elvanis’ income was not secure. “I sold the coffee to several different places and got a low price. It was not good.”

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