microstations meet Uganda

In 2018, when Andy, Aggrey, and Jason started Zombo Coffee Partners Ltd, they envisioned a future that offered a solution for the three main problems farmers face in the Zombo region: lack of infrastructure, poor quality, and no access to the market. Andy, the founder and designer of the micro-station model and of Zombo, thought a future in which farmers become independent is possible. He has been working to prove this since.

By offering an above-market cherry price to farmers and paying a bonus for quality, c-price freedom can be achieved; by providing technical and processing assistance, quality can get better and stabilize. Andy Carlton's strategic system has helped farmers over the past years to improve the quality and consistency of their coffee; together with his long-term business partner Aggrey, they've been supporting farmers to become economic actors in their own right by owning and running the micro stations. Livelihood in this neglected region of the world is beginning to improve, and farmers are now projecting a future for their children's education.

Zombo operates in one of the country's poorest regions in the West Nile. The farmers, mostly Alur people, grow most of their own food and have a hundred coffee trees in their fields. Before Zombo, however, coffee was something like a cash machine for most farmers. They still needed to see what improving quality could offer them. Or, as Aggrey puts it: "Farmers used to look at coffee as something falling from their trees. They used to only look at coffee when the season came."

Over the past years, results have started to spread and manifest. Zombo has managed an exponential price increase and solid growth. But, sadly, large exporters are all too aware of this situation, and when they heard that Zombo was paying higher prices and making farmers co-owners of their company, they decided to outbid them. What will happen when they force Zombo to close down? They can return to their usual practice of squeezing farmers with shamefully low prices and no competition.

Our job, and that of the partners we introduced to Zombo, is to not let that happen…

 

  • DescripUganda is already well-known for excellent robusta coffee.  In recent years Uganda has begun to build a second reputation, as an origin of fine arabica coffees.  Fertile land, volcanic soils, plentiful rainfall and sunshine, good varietals, diverse pockets of suitable micro-climates and altitudes, all combine with improved production practices to contribute to this emerging origin of really tasty specialty coffees.

    The Zombo region, the Alur Highlands, is for most coffee people a blind spot on the map. It is located on the western banks of the Nile, the river that leaves Lake Albert and starts its long, meandering journey to the Mediterranean.  On this hilly plateau, the Alur people speak a Nilotic language which is not related to the majority Bantu languages of sub-Saharan Africa.  They have strong cross-border family relationships in DR Congo, next door. 

    Zombo Coffee Partners is pioneering an innovative business model, a unique African hybrid that combines a private shareholder company with a group of smallholder cooperatives by offering the coops shares in the company.  Zombo works in close partnership with the coops, helping their members to add value by improving quality, and sharing profits with them when we sell their coffee, all with a mindset and focus of full price transparency and open book keeping.  Next to all this, Zombo has a strong focus on helping the farmers to break free of the C-price trap for coffee as a commodity, a mission that lies very close to the heart of This Side Up.

    This is the original document Andy wrote in 2016 about how the microstation concept developed. tion text goes here

These are the microstations whose coffee we buy through Zombo.

We used to work with different microstations in the past and in 2026 we are working closely with only a few and go in depth in the coming years. We are working to integrate this new portfolio also in the storytelling shortlyt.

 

farmers: 85
trees: 39.515

farmers: 154
trees: 46. 508

farmers: 116
trees: 53.739

farmers: 85
trees: 24.940

 

farmers: 273
trees: 82.446

farmers: 90
trees: 20.245

farmers: 150
trees: 39.000

(50 are women)

farmers: 109
trees: 43.884

(49 are woman)

 
 

Currently Zombo Coffee Partners do the dry milling and export. The dry mill is located on Jukia Hill. Since last year they have also been buying from the surrounding farmers - who live directly next to the mill - and are conducting experiments with fermentation in the building (large barn) of the mill itself.

farmers: 47
trees: 18.808

 
 

Zombo operates unlike any other value chain we work in. Not only do the farmers own the microstations themselves (not indirectly through a cooperative) but Zombo as an exporting entity is 25% farmer-owned. They outsource dry milling capacity to a third party miller in Kampala.

Traceability

You can find all the signed contracts and shipping documents that we made with Zombo since 2021 below (Google Drive).

Contracts and shipping documents Zomb0
 

2018: Became friends with Aggrey and Andy of Zombo Coffee Partners within weeks of their company starting.

2019: Bought our first Zombo specialty coffee, from micromills Ajere (then called “Atyenda”) and Culamuk.

2020: Started discussing the C-Price Freedom concept – getting away from New York’s mad roller-coaster. This Side Up worked with four microstations, being Culamuk, Ajere, Gonyobendo and Ndhew. Next to these “single microstation coffees”, the peaberry was a blend of six microstations, the other two being Ayaka and Ambe. 

2021: Zombo paid a floor price of 60 USD cents per kg of fresh cherry for the first time. thanks to the support from two donors, The Royal Dutch Embassy in Kampala and Irish Aid, channeled via Oxfam Uganda, two new farmer groups were created this year: Mitapila and Ayanyonga. Their coffees came with amazing results: Mitapila stood out with scores around 86 for both the fully-washed and the women’s natural coffees. Ayanyonga’s scores were only slightly below, around 85

2022: Farmers were paid the highest prices ever for their fresh cherry – we visited some of the coffee microstations.

2023: The Futureproof Coffee Uganda project started – bringing regenerative agriculture to the Ugandan north-west, courtesy of This Side Up customer Wakuli and the Dutch government.

 
 
 

Andy Carlton

Email: andy@zombocoffee.com

Phone: +256 787 251280

 
 
 

Ovuru Village, Paidha, Zombo District, Uganda

 
 
 

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Ayanyunga was built in 2021 for farmers to be a collective and ideate on ways to enhance development both at level of microstation and household. By being a group, it was possible for them to produce enough volume to meet their customers’ requirements. This improves their bargaining power for fair remuneration. Their vision is to become a leading producer within Zombo both quantitatively and qualitatively. They want to encourage and offer more employment for other members of the society as well as expand their capacities by purchasing more land around the microstation.

Ayanyunga has its fair share of challenges, like bad weather that impacts coffee quality. Other practical issues include limited space for coffee processing and bad roads limiting the connectivity and triggering volume loss during transportation.

Zombo’s community-based consultants help them access market and technical information. This motivates them to stay together which also has other benefits such as learning how to save money effectively.

 

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

1572 meters

NOTABLE

Ayanyunga microstation has 210 members out of which 124 are women farmers.

 

PROCESSING

  • After harvesting, farmers take their coffee to the nearby microstation, which produces fully washed coffee. Hand sorting is done immediately to select the best quality cherries. Once the hand sorting of green, overripe, and diseased cherries is completed, the quality executives at each microstation are allowed to proceed with floating to ensure they obtain the best quality red ripe cherries.

    The red ripe cherries are then taken to the pulping machine to remove the red skin and transform them into parchment. The beans are carefully placed in fermenting containers or buckets filled with water, where they undergo a fermentation process for 24 to 36 hours to remove the sticky mucilage. After fermentation, the beans are washed thoroughly with more water..

    The executive team conducts a second round of hand sorting to remove beans damaged during the pulping process. The wet, high-quality beans are then transferred to a drying table, shade, or tarpaulin for proper drying until they reach the required moisture level of 12% to 13%, which qualifies them as good parchment. The hulling of parchment to obtain green beans is carried out at the ZCP factory.

 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

2024 LANDED SAMPLES

Zombo -Ayanyunga microstation lot - washed.

 

  • The price you pay for Ananyunga washed agreed 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. Another € 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

 

Growing Together for Market Access

In 2021, farmers came together to set up Gonyobendo and work together as a group so they have better market access. Their yearning for collaboration in the value chain inspired them to found and operate Gonyobendo. They have been growing coffee as means of income as well as for their own consumption. Coffee is given the same importance as any other tree since it also gives them their oxygen. There are several challenges this microstation faces operationally. Primarily it is connected to inadequate finances available for maintenance of farms and the microstation during the off season. Their motivation to stay together as a group stems from their cooperation with Zombo coffee partners. Their ambitions for the coming years mainly include market expansion, finding more buyers for their coffees. Market access, bonus payments, training and capacity on good agricultural practices have been some of the initiatives by Zombo which serves as an anchor for them to stay afloat.

 

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

1495 meters


NOTABLE

It is the largest microstation with about 500 farmers.

 

PROCESSING

  • After harvesting, farmers take their coffee to the nearby microstation, which produces fully washed coffee. Hand sorting is done immediately to select the best quality cherries. Once the hand sorting of green, overripe, and diseased cherries is completed, the quality executives at each microstation are allowed to proceed with floating to ensure they obtain the best quality red ripe cherries.

    The red ripe cherries are then taken to the pulping machine to remove the red skin and transform them into parchment. The beans are carefully placed in fermenting containers or buckets filled with water, where they undergo a fermentation process for 24 to 36 hours to remove the sticky mucilage. After fermentation, the beans are washed thoroughly with more water.

    The executive team conducts a second round of hand sorting to remove beans damaged during the pulping process. The wet, high-quality beans are then transferred to a drying table, shade, or tarpaulin for proper drying until they reach the required moisture level of 12% to 13%, which qualifies them as good parchment. The hulling of parchment to obtain green beans is carried out at the ZCP factory.

 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

2024 LANDED SAMPLE

Zombo -Gonyobendo microstation lot - washed.

 

  • The price you pay for Gonyebendo washed 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.

  • 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 Gonyobendo’s coffee amongst your customers.

 

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

2024 LANDED SAMPLES

Ndhew microstation lot - natural

 

  • 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.

 

Building Economic Growth Through Quality Coffee

Leda was built with a vision to improve economic development for farmers. Their aspiration for growth and development also included bringing in the next generation into coffee farming through employment. While they faced several challenges from 2017 (when the microstation was built first), the most ones were not having access to good roads, threat of poor security and lack of electricity. Their motivation to continue being a group after all these years is because of their ability to produce good quality coffee. They can enjoy the benefits of high prices, bonuses for all of their hard work. Furthermore, having enough operational levy left after purchasing cherries for salaries and maintenance helps them stay motivated. They rely on coffee for income, employment and home consumption.

 

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

1506 meters

NOTABLE

Youth are currently employed as casual workers, security guards, renovation of microstations as well as administrative officers.

 

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. Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments!

 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

2024 LANDED SAMPLES

Zombo - Leda women's lot - natural

 

  • The price you pay for Leda natural 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.


  • 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.


  • 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. Another € 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 Leda’s coffee amongst your customers.

 

where innovation and tradition meet

In 2021, Zombo coffee partners built their own coffee factory at Jukia Hill which came into operation in 2022. This is where the dry coffee is brought to be made into export quality. They have employed women from the farms around the factory for hand sorting. Jukia microstation currently has 300 registered members from whom it buys cherries and uses specific fermentation techniques to processes them in a natural way.

The land around this factory was cleared in 2021 and was planted with SL14, robusta, SL28, Excelsa which were left on their own long enough until Lucy arrived at Zombo. Lucy was appointed as the caretaker of the gardens surrounding Jukia Park, overseeing the maintenance and health of the coffee plants and other vegetation. She has been tending to these plants and turning their garden into a paradise!
Jukia is interested to experiment with different processing techniques and fermentation extensively in the coming months.

 

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

1250 meters

NOTABLE

Jukia got an upgrade with an electronic color sorter helping them speed up the processing time yet it is doesn’t' replace the meticulous care these women offer to sort the final defects the machine misses. They have never had an office at Jukia factory until now, thanks to Grounded investment, they are now building a new two storey office that will also act as central meeting place, cupping lab and training facility.

 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

2024 LANDED SAMPLES

Zombo- Jukia microstation - 48hr fermented natural.

 

  • The price you pay for Jukia's 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. Jukia microstation is owned by Zombo and they mainly focus on processing the coffees that come in from the various microstations until they are export grade. Jukia also buys cherries from the farmers in the neighborhood. They specialize in fermenting the coffees and also experiment with other processing methods. Further, they also develop other grades of coffee that are lower in quality than specialty through sorting. These coffees allow Zombo to increase their offering and reduce the waste (coffees that would normally be discarded for not meeting quality requirements). For grade B and triage, the break down is structured as before and after FOB to capture current reality.

    Grade B - community lot (washed FOB) : €5,02

    Grade B - community lot - natural FOB : € 5,02

    Triage - community lot - washed FOB : €3,66

    Triage - community lot - natural FOB : €3,66

  • 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. Another € 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 Jukia’s coffee amongst your customers.