Marula Stories

Hi there! In this post we take you to visit Bukonzo Joint, a co-operative union owned by its members, who currently operate 5,500 small farms. They are located in Kasese in the Rwenzori Mountains region of Western Uganda, bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The visit, organized by Twin Trading (described below), was a chance for the Marula team to understand and see first hand the impact that Fairtrade and specialty coffee markets can have on famers by keeping them out of the poverty cycle. We hope you enjoy the pictures, our interview with Molly Moisan and Bas Alfaro, the Twin Trading Coffee Marketer of East-African coffee and a buyer from Fulkrum coffee respectively. The Rwenzori mountains are located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mountains are a world heritage sight and rightfully so!          Featuring: Twin Trading, American & Canadian Buyers, Marula Team and Bukonzo Fa...

Welcome back to Vlog #004! Marula is aiming to seek out the transparency of the Ugandan coffee supply chain. This time we interview a middleman called Nathan who explains to farmers firsthand how they get squeezed by him. We also get stopped by a company, who we are not allowed to mention, when asking them about the quality of the coffee. Finally, Lulu tells you about the challenges in roasting coffee in-house. Please subscribe to the Marula blogspot to receive updates on our newest vlogs, interesting blog posts and the release of our documentary! Please follow our LinkedIn Page for articles, photos and updates for further journeys! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/du-roc-communications/ Music by: https://soundcloud.com/dauer

Hi Everyone!  We wanted to share some of pictures from our recent trip to Iganga and Bukomansimbi with Cafe Africa.  Cafe Africa  is a non-profit organization who realizes that with 'the increasing global coffee demand and Africa's production potential, there is an opportunity to address the issues of declining export volumes of coffee.'   We visited the company in the field as they showed us their practical approach to training both extension workers and farmers. We were very impressed by the confidence level and positive feedback from the farmers.  We will share their training secrets in Vlog #004, in the mean time, enjoy the pictures!  Coffee Tree Close up of (unripe) cherries and flowers  Picking the ripe cherries off Showing us how to 'pick' ripe cherries rather than 'stripping' all cherries  The next step is either dry or wet processing of the cherry: Method 1: Drying (lower quality)  ...

Welcome back to Vlog #003!  In this Vlog we introduce our very own dream team, a group of agriculture students who join us on our journey. We explain the repressive system keeping farmers poor and we have a chance to sit down with the brother of the president, General Salim Saleh! Next week we go high up the mountains of Kapchorwa, we visit the farmers of some large traders and discuss our take on the three pillars of relieving smallholder poverty.   Please share your comments and feedback and if you like what you see please subscribe to our page and follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/18222010/

In Vlog #002 we talk about our first reactions of Kampala as a city and discuss issues about fertilizer usage, loan payments and gender inequality. We also discuss key takeways of the #oneyoungworld summit in Bogota and how we involve the local youth in our project.  Let us know which issue you think is most pressing to investigate further and please don't hesitate to share your feedback on possible solutions that we could research about whilst in Uganda! Next week we introduce the Marula Dream Team, Tommie goes camping and we interview the brother of the President, General Salim Saleh!

The beginning of an adventure. We seek to discover and document the transparency of the Ugandan coffee supply chain. In our Vlogs we aim to give you an insight into our weekly activities, the people we talk to and the issues we uncover. Our aim is to bridge the gap between the coffee industry and the coffee drinker, people like yourself and us. Please give us feedback and follow us as we start on this journey together!