How do you take your coffee?
First, I light the charcoal stove using kindling and matches. Next, I boil the water in my kettle over the stove. Then I grind the coffee. After grinding, I put a few scoops of coffee into my French press, mix it up, wait for a few minutes, pour into my cup and then take straight black.
Tell us about some of the challenges (and joys!) of being a coffee entrepreneur/member of the coffee community.
One of the main challenges I face as a manager of a coffee estate is dealing with consistent price fluctuations in the market, and how to plan to best mitigate the market volatility. Another challenge is maintaining high quality coffee during the harvest season. The harvest season in Uganda coincides with the rainy season, meaning that we have to really focus on how we dry to the coffee to ensure that it dries evenly and maintains its quality. Coffee diseases also pose a challenge. As an organic coffee estate, we have to find creative ways to tackle coffee disease without using any type of chemical inputs. Previously we had a problem with coffee leaf rust. To eliminate the leaf rust, without compromising our organic integrity, I had to find a local way to support the coffee trees. After much trial and error, we discovered that goat manure contains nutrients that support and boost the coffee tree’s natural defences again leaf rust. Luckily, our neighbour is a goat farmer, and we were able to source goat manure from his farm to fight the leaf rust and keep our coffee trees healthy.
Employment opportunities are scare in upcountry Uganda. When I first started at Kingha Coffee I was working as a part time cook to put my children through school. I realized that I liked working at Kingha Coffee and began to look for other opportunities within the company. I was promoted to a position as a manager’s assistant and learned how to manage a coffee estate and what the work entails. Over the course of the next few years, as I expanded my knowledge of coffee and managerial work I was promoted to full time office manager. I now run the company full time, all my children are in school, and I have found a real love for working in the world of coffee.
How has being part of the local community, and a woman, strengthened or challenged your experience working in coffee?
Being a woman in my part of the world can be associated with the traditional roles of housekeeping and child rearing. Positions working in an office, especially at the managerial level, are generally reserved for men. When I was promoted to working in the office, I had to establish myself as a strong and independent woman, who was capable of managing, and excelling in a male dominated sector. I have established myself as a community leader and an elder stateswoman who is a firm but fair manager and employer.
Has the coffee landscape changed in terms of diversity & inclusion since you've started working 10 years ago?
The local Ugandan coffee landscape and work environment changed as our company has grown. Now that the company has been building and increasing in size, this has led to hiring more women, continuing to grow as a team and see more women being given the opportunity to successfully take on positions of authority.
If you could work towards ONE thing to increase the number of women working in the coffee world in your Ugandan community, what would this be?
I would continue to educate and teach the women in my community about the business of Specialty Coffee in our little corner of the world. As education levels continue to increase, I will hire more female staff, keep providing more jobs and consistent income, so they can continue to take care of their families and provide for their children’s education.
