fostering the unity in comm’unity’

 

This microstation was built in 2019 with an ambition to unite the coffee farmers within the community. This unity would certainly play to their advantage in quality control and meeting demands. It was expected to foster collective learning as well as capacity building in the community. During the last few years they have faced several challenges including security threats due to lack of fences, lack of financing year around and quality issues due to climate change. Yet, their motivation to stick together comes from their positive experiences with Zombo.

From the perspective of coffee trade and production they have been able to benefit from better prices, access to knowledge, consistent quality. Being together as a group also had other advantages in the last few years. It reduced gender based violence within households, challenged mindsets and offered the inspiration to work together for their individual and communal prosperity. They also continue to rely on coffee (beyond their income) for it's role in mitigating climate change by creating an ecosystem that is rich in agroforestry.

 

CULTIVARS

Most of the coffee grown in the Alur Highlands of north-west Uganda is SL14, a variety developed by Scott Laboratories in Kenya and promoted by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.  There is also some Bourbon, which comes from nearby DR Congo, where it dominates. 

elevation

1445 meters

NOTABLE

They grow coffee for self consumption at home as well as for it’s ability to reduce health risks and aiding them with mental alertness throughout the day. The basic income project has been launched successfully in this microstation on 27th July 2024 and will go on for 2 years.

PROCESSING

  • When coffee is harvested and taken to the buying stations of Ndhew, Leda, and Ayanyunga, it is either spread on tarpaulin or a quality table for hand-sorting to remove any underripe or overripe fruit.
    After hand-sorting, it is then taken to the weighing scale, and floating is done immediately to separate the good, red ripe cherries, i.e., those free of disease. Finally, the executives lay out the quality red ripe cherries in the sun on the drying rack/table until they turn from red to brown or nearly black to attain the recommended moisture level. They keep turning the cherries to prevent molding, which can easily affect the flavor if not done thoroughly. The hulling process to remove the thick, dried outer layer is then carried out at the ZCP factory, revealing the green beans.

 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.

 

  • The price you pay for Ndhew naturals p/kg. We agreed on this price directly with the farmers, disregarding the volatile US Coffee C price.

  • The microstation buys red cherries from the farmers. They process it and then send the dry coffee (in parchment form) to Zombo for final milling, sorting for it to be made to export grade. Farm gate in this case includes price paid to the farmer and the primary processing done by the microstation.


  • Zombo mills the coffee at Jukia hill and then sorts it to export grade. Further, they are also responsible for all the processes involved in exporting the coffee from Uganda to the Netherlands.


  • International shipping from Nebbi (Port of loading - Mombasa, Kenya) to Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is inclusive of freight, customs, insurance and warehousing costs.

  • Average financing cost owed to (mostly social) lenders. This ensures immediate payment to the farmers when the coffee leaves the farm or port.

  • A standard TSU premium on all coffees designated exclusively to accelerate farmers’ own regenerative agriculture project. nother € 0.06 is included in the final price as part of the basic income project being carried out at Zombo coffee partners in cooperation with Eight Network and This Side Up. Read more about this project here

  • This Side Up compensation for spending time and resources importing this coffee. Our work includes year-round contact with producers, managing export, shipping, import, warehousing, grading, sampling, finding and keeping roasting partners for Zombo. € 1,65 is This Side Up’s Model 1 markup. For a full overview of our modular margin construction, see the Trade Models page

Photo gallery

You may use these images freely to promote Ndhew among your customers. Please credit Zombo Coffee Partners.