BUGISU FARMING COMMUNITIES

Supporting these communities is more than about coffee. Our deliberate intent is to try and make these farming communities less dependent on the biosphere forests that they live next to.

The area borders an  UNESCO’s Man & Biosphere Reserve, places that are ecologically and environmentally critical.

We refer to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to develop, implement and measure strategy.

8 districts with 1.7 million people (1.2 million outside the main town) live on Mount Elgon- almost 5% of Uganda population in over 300,000 households (an average of 4.5 per household). Their main income is from coffee farming.

Uganda is the world’s 6th largest and Africa’s largest coffee exporter.

1 in 12 of the world’s coffee farmers are Ugandan. On farms of 2 acres (almost 1 hectare) at altitudes of 1300 to 2000 metres, they intercrop Arabica coffee with family food, under shade to produce an excellent, unique coffee.

After 3 seasons of work, in 2019, three coffees were blind tasted by a qualified Q-Grader in Europe and all scored specialty status.

CARICO also sells an Arabica coffee from Western Uganda from the border of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO Heritage Site, that is home to 5% of the world’s endangered 1,000 mountain gorillas.

Mount Elgon National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest together have 142 species on the The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) Red List - the world’s most comprehensive source on global status of species, critical indicators of our planet’s biodiversity, the measure of its health

If you are interested in visiting to climb Mount Elgon’s highest peak Wagagai or all peaks, learn more here. To get you started, learn a few words of Lugisu or Lumasaba at it is known on the mountains here.

GO BEYOND THE TASTE.

IT can make all the difference.

Coffee that matters.