Higher Grounds Trading Company
Roasting 100% Fair Trade and Organic Handcrafted Coffees
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Meet the Farmers: Uganda
Located on and around Mount Elgon, a large volcanic mountain that spans several kilometers along the border of Uganda and Kenya, the farmers of the Gumutindo cooperative produce high-quality arabica coffee at altitudes that stretch beyond 2,000 meters above sea level. The cooperative is a farmer-owned business that is made up of 10 different "primary societies" (a type of sub-coop) that represent more than 6,000 farmers.
In Perspective
After losing its foothold in the international coffee scene in the early 1990s, Ugandan farmers had difficulty finding markets in which to sell high-quality coffee. The dismantling of the country's coffee industry created a hostile environment among foreign importers—Uganda was considered a high volume, lower grade source. In 1998, a handful of farmers joined a collective effort to reestablish Uganda's commitment to quality coffee as well as to the cooperative-based structure. By 1999, 200 farmers gathered together to pursue a direct partnership with TWIN, a U.K.-based importer devoted to Fair Trade principles and social development of small-scale farmers all over the world.
A Quality Cup
Like most co-ops, Gumutindo had modest beginnings. Since then, the co-op has grown significantly; it also maintains a professional staff of agronomists, technicians and cuppers.
