In search of Ethical Coffee- Uganda

The search for ethical coffee begun in earnest on 31 March 2009, at the Headquarters of OTTIMO Cafe in Tottenham North London.

There were two sides in the "pot" so to say. The charity Let Them Help Themselves out of Poverty and OTTIMO

The charity works on various community projects in Uganda and relies heavily on the generosity of friends and volunteers, however this is not sustainable especially in the current economic environment.

On the other hand OTTIMO wanted to improve its Corporate Social Responsibility and had been frustrated with the existing models of helping African farmers.

It was therefore agreed that Charity would sell its expertise of working with communities in Uganda in particular to OTTIMO and that OTTIMO would share some of their profits with the charity to enable it to continue its work in Uganda, with specific emphasis on communities in the coffee growing regions

The next step was to travel to Uganda. It was agreed early on that this was a necessary step in the discussions. It would help us understand how the coffee industry in Uganda operates, enable us to meet the growers and establish a working relationship with them, as well as get a clear understanding on doing business in Uganda.

So it was that on 12 May we hit the road to Uganda in search of ethical coffee. In next blog I will write about the coffee trail, and post some photos from the trip