Slow Food Uganda Coffee Festival 2017 is about to kick off!

A festival to promote good, clean and fair coffee and support small-scale Ugandan producers

The second edition of Slow Food Uganda Coffee Festival will take place on February 18 at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Old Play Ground in Mukono from 8:00am to 5:00pm. The event is a result of the collaboration between the Luwero Kisansa Coffee Slow Food Presidium, Slow Food Uganda and other partners, such as the ECO action.

The Festival is called “Uganda Coffee: From Tree to Cup” and celebrates Uganda’s native varieties and coffee culture, raising awareness among the local population about the benefits of drinking good, clean and fair coffee.

Uganda is the second largest coffee producer in Africa and home to several native varieties. Coffee has a substantial role in many households’ economic income: about 3,5 million Ugandans are involved directly or indirectly in growing the crop. However, local consumption of coffee produced in Uganda is low and most of the crop is exported. The aim of the festival is thus to teach Ugandan consumers about their traditional coffees and how to enjoy them, as well as to explain all the work Slow Food Uganda is doing to protect food biodiversity and the right to good, clean, fair food.

Thirty small-scale coffee farmers from nine Terra Madre food communities from areas that produce both Arabica and Kisansa coffee, and representatives from the Luwero Kisansa Coffee Presidium will participate in the event, along with coffee roasters, coffee farmers and members of the Slow Food network in Uganda.

The festival will start with an opening ceremony at the presence of H.E. Domenico Fornara, the Italian Ambassador to Uganda; Hon. Betty Nambooze, Member of Parliament for Mukono Municipality; George Fred Kagimu, Mayor for Mukono Municipal Council, David Mugawe, Deputy Vice Chancellor for External Relations at Uganda Christian University, Edward Mukiibi, Slow Food Uganda President and Slow Food International Vice-President; Irene Marocco, Slow Food Coordinator for East Africa.

Leading local institutions, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), NGOs representatives, researchers from various agricultural institutions like National Coffee Research Institute (NACORI), Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MUZARDI) and stakeholders from both the public and private sectors are also expected to attend the event.

Visitors will be able to explore the coffee production chain at a Slow Food producers’ market as well as through tastings and meetings. The coffee festival program includes workshops where different experiences of the coffee value chain will be shared, from farmers, middlemen and baristas. There will be explanations of cultivation methods and advice on methods for good harvest selection. There will also be talks on artisan roasting and infusion, how to create a sustainable supply chain for the environment and producers alike, and developing sales relations to create greater visibility for local coffee farmers and roasters.

The festival will take place across different areas:

• Biodiversity Tent – Where products from Terra Madre food communities and the Ark of Taste catalogue of traditional foods at risk of extinction will be displayed. In Uganda, the Ark of Taste already contains more than 30 products.
• Coffee Houses – Stands with different coffee businesses – among them the 1000 Cups Coffee House from Kampala, TBC and ECO Shamba CAFÉ from Mbale – will present coffee brewing methods and tastings of Uganda’s known and lesser known coffee varieties. 
• Slow Food Uganda Coffee Pavilion – An exhibition of the work and projects in the Slow Food Uganda coffee network.
• Children’s Corner – A space dedicated to children with coffee art and craft, face painting and plays from used coffee materials.
• Experimental Catering and Coffee Lab – Presenting and selling different products made of coffee such as cosmetics, foods, drinks.
• Movie Screening – With documentaries related to coffee production, the coffee industry and agriculture.
• Coffee Start-up – Presenting personal stories of Ugandan start-ups and businesses related to coffee.

Slow Food is active in Uganda with a network of over 20,000 members organized in 10 local chapters. A network that is continuously growing and committed to protecting the rich heritage of biodiversity in Uganda.

Today Uganda counts 5 Slow Food Presidia, 41 Terra Madre food communities, 232 Slow Food gardens, an Earth Market in Mukono-Wakiso and about 30 products listed on the Ark of Taste – the Slow Food catalog of endangered food products to be safeguarded. Uganda has also joined the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance, which includes 10 chefs committed to promoting local producers and keeping Ugandan food traditions alive.

For more information about the event click here.

Slow Food protects biodiversity with projects around the world. To continue this work, we need everyone’s help and participation. http://donate.slowfood.com/en/

For further information, please contact:

Slow Food International Press Office:

[email protected]  – Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

Slow Food Coordinator for East Africa: Irene Marocco

[email protected]

Responsible of the event communication in Uganda: John Wanyu

 [email protected] – +256 778 628 671

Slow Food is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet. Slow Food involves over a million activists, chefs, experts, youth, farmers, fishers and academics in over 160 countries. Among them, a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members are linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide, contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize. As part of the network, more than 2,400 Terra Madre food communities practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.