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In 2012, I set off on a mission to bring specialty coffee from my village to the world. The area of Kanungu, on the western border of Uganda, and its surrounding districts have been producing coffee for generations. Historically, all of the coffee had been sold to middlemen for $0.03 – $0.05 per pound, due to its low quality, it was labeled as “non-exportable: local consumption only”.
I set out to change that.
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In partnership with groups like Temple Coffee Roasters (based in Sacramento, CA), we started by training local farmers in proper growing and harvesting techniques. Over time, our work has resulted in drastic increases in cherry quality.
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We built a facility to harvest and process raw cherries into green coffee beans.
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Our work is in producing coffee, however improving quality (and therefore the price point) goes far beyond just the coffee itself. Along the process of improving the quality of coffee, we have also addressed education, agricultural practices, social (family) dynamics, quality of living, and working infrastructure for local farmers. By addressing these issues, we are able to pay living wages to our farmers and offer indirect support for other projects; such as clean well water and higher education (building schools, even one accredited university) for the community.
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We are excited by the work that we’ve been doing to support the local farming communities and bring high quality Uganda coffee to the world, but we are just getting started.
- Gerald K. Mbabazi
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GORILLA SUMMIT COFFEE ACTIONABLES AND GOALS
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Carbon Neutral by 2024
We are working to neutralize our carbon footprint to protect our environment. We believe the coffee value chain can do better for our planet. Over the last 4 years we have changed our production systems so as to conserve water and have zero carbon emissions on all our production locations. We have perfected our naturals, and honeys not only for flavor profile but also attain net zero emissions.
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Organic Certified by 2024
We have 3800 farmers in transition and we are experimenting with live organisms to “clean the soil” in areas where farmers have used harmful chemicals in the past. Being organically certified is our way of being commited to regenerative agricultural techniques which will stop contamination of natural soil organisms.
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SDGs 1,2,3,4,6 and 13 https://sdgs.un.org/#goal_section
There are 17 SDG's declared by the UNDP, please click link above.
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Gorilla summit coffee is a social enterprise working with small holder farmers to bring more money into communities.
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1. We Want zero poverty, that is why we pay a premium for coffee.
2. We support food intercropping with coffee so as to ensure food security.
3. We set up community and school health camps to support community health and well-being.
4. We sponsor students and support schools with learning materials and teacher training because education is very transformative to communities.