Uganda’s economy relies 85% on Agriculture. The pearl of Africa produces both food and cash crops, for local consumption and export. The major cash crop grown is coffee which is planted in different regions in the country. Coffee growth, process, and export are the citizens and government major sources of revenue with millions of bags exported every year. Uganda’s main export is coffee contributing to large proportion to its international revenue.

Arabica coffee and robusta coffee are the only varieties of coffee grown in Uganda with Robusta grown more than Arabica in the ratio of 4:1 respectively.

These coffees are grown in the four regions of Uganda where conditions are favourable. The presence of the fertile soils and reliable rainfall on the highland areas, Arabica coffee is majorly around the slopes of the Mountains; Elgon, Rwenzori, and Muhavura with an altitude of 1500 above sea level. Robusta is grown in all the region’s of Uganda originating from the Lake Victoria crescent.

Robusta is grown in the Eastern, central, western and central parts of the country with an altitude of 1200metres above the sea, Arabica growns mainly in areas with an altitude of 1500 meters majorly in the Eastern part. 

Coffee makes up 15% of Uganda’s total exports and accounts for the bulk of its export revenue, according to the development authority. Uganda is the birthplace of robusta coffee, and is the world’s fourth-largest robusta coffee producer and the eighth-largest coffee producer overall. Between October 2019 and September 2020, the country exported more than 5 million bags of coffee worth more than $512 million. But the government wants to increase coffee production to 20 million bags a year by 2025.

The Kalimi bean coffee is a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans. The 35% Robusta comes from this Uganda project. This coffee is medium roasted and has a full, mild and round taste with a fresh sour nuance. Although this coffee blend does not have a sustainability certification, it does have our guarantee that it is a responsible cup of coffee! We visit the plantations and farmers ourselves and know the process from coffee plant to coffee cup. As a result, we know that sustainability, working conditions and the environment are more than excellently arranged.

I was honored to have photographed and documented Betty Kalimi  who is a coffee farmer from Uganda and the namesake of this coffee brand. Betty, a widow and mother of six children, is one of the now thousand coffee farmers in Uganda who started their own coffee plantation through the Focusplaza Foundation. And with success! She started in 2010 with 300 plants and managed to expand that to a coffee plantation of no fewer than 550 coffee plants. Thanks to that plantation, Betty is able, among other things, to give her children an education.