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, and farmers, mostly Alhur 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…

 

These are the microstations Zombo brought together for this year’s harvest.

We work with all but one microstation that Zombo works with, the missing one is Ayanyunga.
Also, we buy a lot called “Jukia Hill”, this is the coffee from farmers close to Zombo’s dry processing plant, Jukia Park.

 

Ajere

farmers: 85
trees: 39,515
bought:

Gonyobendo

farmers: 154
trees: 46, 508
bags bought:

Ndhew

farmers: 116
trees: 53,739
bags bought:

pamitu

farmers: 85
trees: 24,940

 

ambe

farmers: 273
trees: 82,446

ayaka

farmers: 90
trees: 20,245

MITAPILA

farmers: 150 (50 are women)
trees: 39,000

LEDA

farmers: 109 (49 are woman)
trees: 43,884

 
 

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.

 

Jukia hill

farmers: 47
trees: 18.808


THIS SIDE UP VALUE CHAIN:

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.

 

THE PRICE YOU PAY:€9,08

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. 

ALTITUDE:

1,445-1645 meters above sea level.

NOTABLE:

Zombo represents one of our biggest sustainability challenges yet: to implement a unique business model that offers a democratic solution for farmers in the Zombo district in the long term, whilst creating a C-Price bubble.

In 2020 and 2021, the women’s coffee attracted higher prices. Female producers earned a slightly better bonus. Considering the unpredictable nature of its drying process, it is quite remarkable to witness the benefits consistency is bringing to this outstanding group of coffee producers.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

2019: first import of coffees from micromills Ajere (then called “Atyenda”) and Culamuk.

2020: 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: 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

PROCESSING:

Zombo processes its coffee in three different ways:

Fully Washed: the fruit from the coffee cherry is removed mechanically using a “pulper”. Beans are then fermented to improve the flavour. To create a clean cup, beans are further washed. They are then dried in the sun or under shade on raised tables or trays. 

Natural: coffee is harvested, hand-sorted and floated. Instead of being pulped like a “washed” coffee, it is dried inside the cherry.  It takes more time and more space than washed coffee to produce a good natural.  That means considerably more investment by the microstation in drying space, and Zombo helps with this. Coffee then dries in full sun in the first few days. The women then deliver their cherry coffee to the microstation as individuals, and it is processed separately. 

Yellow honey: instead of fermenting the beans after pulping, they are dried with the remaining mucilage. This produces “yellow honey” coffee.  This is mid-way between washed and natural coffee.

**ZCP is experimenting with extended and anaerobic fermentation at Jukia microstation.

ajere farmers: €4,36

The price the farmers receive per kg of green coffee of Ajere Washed. These prices have a quality bonus included. This price has two segments and it includes the margin paid for the wet-milling and drying (€0,34 and €0,33 correspondingly) to each microstation. The prices paid for other coffees this year are:

  • Ambe Women's Natural: € 4,36

  • Ayaka Washed: € 4,42

  • Ayaka Women's Natural: € 4,35

  • Culamuk Women's Natural: € 4,31

  • Gonyobendo Washed: € 4,32

  • Leda Women's Natural: € 4,28

  • Mitapila Washed: € 4,43

  • Mitapila Women's Natural: € 4,38

  • Pamitu Washed: € 4,44

  • Pamitu Women's Natural: € 4,44

  • CPB Washed (Small Beans): € 4,31

  • CPB Women's Natural (Small Beans): € 4,40

ZOMBO: €2,68

The costs for milling the coffee, hand sorting the beans, taking out defects, preparing the lots in bags and making it ready for export. This figure also includes the cost of running Zombo Coffee Partners Ltd, sending samples to buyers, visiting trade fairs, investing in the microstations (equipment and building materials – USD 22,700 in 2019-20) and the company’s cost of finance. Zombo margins for other coffees are:

  • Ambe Women's Natural: € 2,68

  • Ayaka Washed: € 2,73

  • Ayaka Women's Natural: € 2,66

  • Culamuk Women's Natural: € 2,62

  • Gonyobendo Washed: € 2,64

  • Leda Women's Natural: € 2,60

  • Mitapila Washed: € 2,75

  • Mitapila Women's Natural: € 2,69

  • Pamitu Washed: € 2,76

  • Pamitu Women's Natural: € 2,76

  • CPB Washed (Small Beans): € 2,63

  • CPB Women's Natural (Small Beans): € 2,72

SHIPPING: €0,46

The logistical costs to get the coffee from Western Uganda to Rotterdam including insurance and customs clearance.

THIS SIDE UP: €1,40

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. € 1,55 is This Side Up’s Model 1 markup. For a full overview of our modular margin construction, see the Trade Models page.

CUSTOMS, INSURANCE, FINANCING: €0,36

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

REGENERATION:
€0,06

A standard TSU premium on all coffees designated exclusively to accelerate farmers’ own regenerative agriculture projects. Andy and Aggrey will use it to upgrade their regenerative demo plot next to the Zombo dry mill.


 

AVAILABLE FROM ZOMBO:

  • Ndhew fully washed

  • Ajere fully washed

  • Ambe fully washed

  • Ayaka fully washed

  • Culamuk Women's Natural

  • Gonyobendo Washed


PHOTO GALLERY:

You may use these pictures freely to promote Zombo among your customers.


CONTACT ZOMBO

Reach out to Andy of Zombo Coffee Partners for a swift reply about everything you’d like to know about the projects.
 

CONTACT Andy Carlton
EMAIL andy@zombocoffee.com
TEL +256 787 251280

INSTAGRAM / WEBSITE

 

 
 

Ovuru Village, Paidha, Zombo District, Uganda


Uganda, Zombo and coffee microstations

Uganda 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.


Annual Reports

Every year, Andy makes a beautiful report stating their business’ impact and attained goals. We are proud to share it here with you.

 

Ajere

Ajere microstation is managed by James, Faustino, Thomas, and Rovia. Together with the community members, they have achieved consistent quality over the years, as well as a good volume. The cooperative produces coffee from around 85 farmers in an area, and the coffee trees grow under the shade of indigenous trees.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

 

ALTITUDE:

1,590 meters above sea level

 

NOTABLE:

The area that surrounds coffee trees in Ajere is shaded by several indigenous trees; plantations of eucalyptus and African teak wildly grow among the grazing land. 

PROCESSING:

Double wet fermentation: cherries are depulped using simple hand-pulpers and washed the same day. They are then double wet-fermented for 2 to 18 hours, shade dried, and sun dried on raised beds.

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

You may use these pictures freely to promote Ajere among your customers.

 

zombos’ heights

Pamitu, managed by Tartizo, Gilbert, Ben, and Molli, is one of the longest-established micro stations in the Zombo area. Dating from the 1960s’ this is still a traditionally-run farmer cooperative society. It is also one of the first micro stations Zombo worked with.

With guidance from Andy, who worked for Twin UK then, and with funding from Oxfam, the members constructed a drying shed and started operations in 2015. In 2021, Pamitu women’s natural coffee scored 87 and was auctioned at USD 5.62 per lb when the international market price was below 1.50 per lb. Their coffee is to be certified organic soon.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14


ALTITUDE:

1,641 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Pamitu produces some of the best coffee in Zombo, both fully-washed and natural processes.

Processing:

Fully-washed: the red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and hand-sorted for defects, then immersed in water to remove floaters. Coffee is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment.

Natural: coffee is harvested, hand-sorted and floated. Instead of being pulped like a “washed” coffee, it is dried inside the cherry.  It takes more time and more space than washed coffee to produce a good natural.  That means considerably more investment by the microstation in drying space, and Zombo helps with this. Coffee then dries in full sun in the first few days. The women then deliver their cherry coffee to the microstation as individuals, and it is processed separately. 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.

 

PHOTO GALLERY:

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

Video:

Watch this video to learn more about Zombo and its microstations.

 

WITHIN THE BOUNDARY OF ZOMBO TOWN

In 2018, in the districts of Zombo and Nebi, home of the Alur people, Ndhew farmers built their microstation and started processing their coffee. Since then, production has increased significantly. Today, Ndhew is the second-biggest producer of coffee amongst the 11 microstations. Ndhew women members were the first to produce women’s natural coffee, which gained praise and a buyer, OLAM Specialty Europe. Ndhew microstation is managed by: Alfred, Gerald, Wilfred, Robert, and Sunday.

As a registered cooperative society, Ndhew worked with Agency for Community Empowerment (AFCE) to construct a new micro-station within the boundary of Zombo Town in 2017 and 2018. The specialist equipment and materials for this project came from Irish Aid through Oxfam, matched by farmer contributions of land, time, skills, local materials, and cash.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1445 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Ndhew is now the second-biggest producer of coffee amongst the 11 Zombo microstations.

Processing:

Fully-washed: the red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and hand-sorted, immersed in water to remove floaters. It is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment. The cherry is pulped on the same day as it was delivered.

Natural: coffee is harvested, hand-sorted and floated. Instead of being pulped like a “washed” coffee, it is dried inside the cherry.  It takes more time and more space than washed coffee to produce a good natural.  That means considerably more investment by the microstation in drying space, and Zombo helps with this. Coffee then dries in full sun in the first few days. The women then deliver their cherry coffee to the microstation as individuals, and it is processed separately. 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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


 

a unique MODEL, that works

In 2021, Ambe members contributed land, labor, and bricks, while Zombo contributed equipment and materials to build a new micro-station, at a new site, with its own coffee store. Later that same year, Ambe began buying cherry to produce natural coffee and started producing honey coffee using its new pulper in 2022. This micro-station is run by Alfred, Aloysius, Gabriel, and Leena (quality supervisors).

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1480 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

At Ambe women members produce natural coffee; the microstation also produces a variation on washed coffee. 

PROCESSING:

Yellow honey: instead of fermenting the beans after pulping, they are dried with the remaining mucilage. This produces “yellow honey” coffee.  This is mid-way between washed and natural coffee.

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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


 

Making each step count

In 2019, after an initial meeting between Zombo and the coffee farmers, Ayaka microstation was born: farmers offered the land, timber and labor to construct a drying shed; Zombo, the equipment and materials —such as a water tank and a pulper, coffee mesh, security mesh, tarpaulins, and fermentation bins.

In October of 2021, the results of their hard work blossomed: a sample of fully-washed arabica coffee from Ayaka microstation was placed six out of 62 samples of Ugandan arabica, cupped by two teams of CQI-certified Q-graders, one in London and one in Kampala.

This microstation is operated by Geoffrey, Walter, Robert, and Heliot.

Zombo's mission to help its members add value by improving quality and sharing profits, all with a mindset and focus of full price transparency and open bookkeeping, lies very close to our hearts. This is why becoming partners was such a relevant step for us.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1650 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Because Ayaka is particularly rainy, it’s difficult to dry whole-cherry natural coffee. This is why most of the coffee from Ayaka is washed.

Processing:

Fully-washed: the red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and if necessary hand-sorted for defects, then immersed in water to remove floaters. It is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment. The cherry is pulped on the same day as it was delivered.

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES:

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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


 

A UNITED COMMUNITY

"Gonyobendo" in the Alur language means: "take the baby off your back," perhaps because this microstation is situated halfway up a long, arduous climb on the way to the local trading center at Erussi, and because of its big shady trees and a running stream.

However, farmers in Gonyobendo do not rest that much and their hard work has taken them far. Today Gonyobendo is the biggest of the 10 Zombo Coffee Partner microstations, buying from more than 300 farmers and producing more than 30 tonnes of parchment coffee each season. It is managed by a team of four brothers: Charles, Alex, Collins, and Alfred. They are a highly entrepreneurial team, working round the clock to ensure they get the quantity and quality of coffee cherries to meet their targets. Deo, the community-based trainer, assists their processes.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1495 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Gonyobendo is the biggest of the 10 Zombo Coffee Partner microstations, buying from more than 300 farmers and producing more than 30 tonnes of parchment coffee each season. The Gonyobendo team produces fully-washed coffee using a two-stage Penagos pulper.

Processing:

Fully-washed. The red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and if necessary hand-sorted for defects, then immersed in water to remove floaters. It is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment. The cherry is pulped on the same day as it was delivered.

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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

 

unity at its best

Mitapila is a clear example of what supportive autonomy stands for: in 2021, when funds came from  The Royal Dutch Embassy in Kampala and Irish Aid, via Oxfam Uganda. Mitapila quickly organized,  identified land, mobilized resources and constructed new microstations from scratch. Although in the first year, they produced a small volume, it was very well received, and got incredible scores: for their  fully-washed and  women’s natural coffees they got around 86. This microstation is run by Charity and slowly we hope to learn about other members from this group.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1600 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Mitapila is one of the two most recent microstations joining Zombo. This microstation exemplifies the autonomy that Zombos’ cooperatives and organized groups stand by. With the support they received from Oxfam and The Royal Dutch Embassy, the managed to take decisions, organize and create amazing coffee.

Processing:

Fully-washed. The red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and if necessary hand-sorted for defects, then immersed in water to remove floaters. It is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment. The cherry is pulped on the same day as it was delivered.

Natural: coffee is harvested, hand-sorted and floated. Instead of being pulped like a “washed” coffee, it is dried inside the cherry.  It takes more time and more space than washed coffee to produce a good natural.  That means considerably more investment by the microstation in drying space, and Zombo helps with this. Coffee then dries in full sun in the first few days. The women then deliver their cherry coffee to the microstation as individuals, and it is processed separately. 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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

 

autonomy at its best

Zombos' growth, year after year, reflects on the number of microstations that join the project and the improvements in quality and processing. It also reflects on other, less tangible assets, like trust. Trust among the microstation members, trust from the member towards Andy and Aggrey, and trust from the foundations and organizations that support this growth.

Leda is one of the first micro-stations that joined the project back in 2015. Although decisions are taken collectively, Ramada, Wilfred, and Grace run the microstation. Leda has never produced high volumes, but their quality has always been outstanding. This year, members quickly adjusted to an unforeseen challenge: cherries, usually sundried, were not put in the sun for several days and were left, instead, in a one hundred percent shaded drying shed. The coffee was becoming moldy and Andy, together with cooperative members, quickly reacted: Andy provided thirty drying trays and advised its members to build some drying racks, which they did--in one day. Andy also urged the members to stop producing naturals and make some washed coffee as well. Two days later, when Andy returned to the station to see how everything was going, he was gladly surprised to taste a fruity and sweet coffee; farmers were busy producing the wash. This anecdote truly reflects the intricate autonomy that makes Zombo so unique.

 

CULTIVARS:

SL14

ALTITUDE:

1,506 metres above sea level.

 

NOTABLE:

Leda was one of the original three microstations constructed by members back in 2015, under a TWIN project funded by Oxfam. 

 

Processing:

Fully-washed. The red-ripe cherry coffee is harvested by the farmer and brought to the microstation the same day. It is inspected and if necessary hand-sorted for defects, then immersed in water to remove floaters. It is then weighed and a buying note is issued to the farmer, along with cash payment. The cherry is pulped on the same day as it was delivered.

Natural: coffee is harvested, hand-sorted and floated. Instead of being pulped like a “washed” coffee, it is dried inside the cherry.  It takes more time and more space than washed coffee to produce a good natural.  That means considerably more investment by the microstation in drying space, and Zombo helps with this. Coffee then dries in full sun in the first few days. The women then deliver their cherry coffee to the microstation as individuals, and it is processed separately. 

TASTIFY™ CUPPING NOTES :

Browse through our Tastify Archives on Google Drive.


PHOTO GALLERY:

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