Gumutindo in the News
Our friends at TWIN Trading (UK) just passed me a link to a recent article from London’s “The Observer”. In it, journalist Andrew Purvis explores the history of the Gumutindo Cooperative Union (of which Peace Kawomera is one of ten member-cooperatives), and the story of coffee in Uganda in general. It’s a great read, and illuminates a lot of the history of where Peace Kawomera came from, and the farmer-led movement transforming Uganda’s coffee trade.
“Yet, ironically, these people - deprived of everything - had one resource that the whole world wanted: coffee, grown at high altitude on the fertile slopes of Mount Elgon, which was virtually indistinguishable from its famous Kenyan counterpart. Unable to export their beans legally, farmers traded them on the black market - and Kenya, a two-day trek from the Konokoyi valley where I am standing now, was their conduit to the coffee-drinking world.”
Also, check out Mr. Purvis’ blog for his thoughts on the real reasons why fair trade matters.
Here’s to the farmers, whose remarkable story continues to inspire me, and hopefully you too!
In Peace,
Ben