The Producers

In its efforts to connect coffee production to environmental management, Bariguna is collaborating with Joel Kaburu, a former Forest Ranger. Due to his work with fauna and flora in the national parks, he has a keen interest in experimenting with organic cultivation, special processing and sustainable use of resources. He has specialized in “honey processed” coffee and advises the project on processing methods.

The “Kalaa Mugosi Women's Empowerment Association” works with over a hundred coffee producing families and specializes on a “natural” Arabica, that means coffee cherries that are sun-dried as an entire cherry without removing the pulp. This method produces a fruity, “winy” flavor that the regular “washed” Arabica does not offer.

The “Mount Elgon Women in Specialty Coffee” are an association composed of women who have their own coffee farms and are also working with neighbors and friends depending on the volume of their market. For Bariguna, they produce an excellent “honey processed” Arabica. The name is derived from the process, whereby the coffee cherries are pulped but thereafter not fermented and washed but put directly on raised beds for sun-drying. It is a delicate process that requires constant attention to temperature, turning the beans to prevent sticking together and allowing for enough shade and rest during drying.

The “Bunabude Coffee Growers Association” have their farms at an altitude between 2,000 and 2,100 m, inherited partly from their parents and grandparents. The older generation planted mainly “Nyasaland” coffee, a variety introduced in colonial times, 60-80 years ago and the current farmers have added the predominant improved varieties and produce a washed Arabica processed at their homes.