In the picturesque region of Sironko, Uganda, the idea of a coffee sisterhood began to take root through the efforts of Meridah Nandudu. Her approach was straightforward yet impactful: incentivize female coffee growers with higher prices per kilogram when they brought their beans to collection points. This simple strategy began to shift who participated in the selling process, encouraging women to step forward in a role typically dominated by men.
Initially, men were the ones commonly making deliveries, but as word spread of the financial advantages offered to women, more began empowering their wives to go instead. Nandudu’s business, Bayaaya Specialty Coffee, has now expanded to include over 600 women—a significant increase from the number in 2022. Today, women represent about 75% of the registered farmers engaged with her company in this mountainous area of eastern Uganda, known for its high-quality arabica beans.
Historically, women have borne the brunt of the labor in the coffee value chain but have often been sidelined when it comes to receiving the fruits of their labor. “Women have been so discouraged by coffee in a way that, when you look at the coffee value chain, women do the donkey work,” said Nandudu. It’s common for men to take over the sale and profit from the coffee once it’s ready to be sold.
Nandudu’s vision is to alter this narrative, particularly in a community where coffee production heavily relies on women’s labor. Against the backdrop of Uganda, one of Africa’s leading coffee producers with coffee as its chief export, her initiative represents a progressive change. From September 2023 to August 2024, Uganda exported more than 6 million bags of coffee, generating about $1.3 billion, according to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority. With Brazil facing drought and declining production, Uganda’s coffee earnings are climbing.
In the lush Sironko district, where Nandudu grew up in a village near the Kenyan border, coffee is a communal staple. During her childhood, she often assisted her mother and others in tasks such as planting, weeding, and carrying out post-harvest processing—pulping, fermenting, washing, and drying the coffee beans. However, the harvest season often coincided with domestic strife, as disputes erupted over the earnings men brought back—or sometimes didn’t.
After completing her degree in social sciences in 2015, Nandudu envisioned a company addressing the distinct challenges faced by women coffee producers. She named her initiative “bayaaya,” drawing from the Lumasaba language, to embody a sisterhood among women in the industry. Bayaaya Specialty Coffee emerged in 2018, operating by procuring beans directly from farmers and preparing them for export.
What sets Bayaaya apart in Mbale, eastern Uganda’s largest urban hub, is its focus on female empowerment and financial initiatives. Its members benefit from a cooperative savings society they can invest in and borrow from. For small-holder farmers like those in Uganda, a slight price increment for their coffee makes a discernible difference. A decade prior, middlemen would buy coffee for about 8,000 Uganda shillings—a bit over $2 in today’s rates. Now, the price hovers around $5.
Nandudu has introduced a premium of 200 shillings for each kilogram purchased from women, providing enough of an added incentive to draw more women into the fold. Members also receive bonus payments during the off-season, reinforcing their commitment. “When a woman sells coffee, she has a hand in it,” Nandudu remarked, fostering independence and agency among the community’s women.
The group maintains collection points throughout the region, allowing women to gather and sell their coffee twice weekly. While all are welcome, the initiative profoundly impacts family dynamics. Linet Gimono, who joined in 2022, reported that being part of Bayaaya has encouraged cooperative financial planning in her household. With steady income, she can purchase essentials—like soap and sugar—without disputes.
Juliet Kwaga, another member, reflects on generational change?— her father arbitrated coffee sales in the family, but now her husband supports her participation. “At the end of the day, I go home with something to feed my family, to support my children,” she noted gladly.
Though coffee trees mark much of Sironko’s hilly lands, actual coffee consumption among these small-scale farmers has lagged. Many have yet to taste their own coffee, leading to bashful smiles when asked for flavor descriptions. However, attitudes are evolving, especially among young women engaged in urban coffee ventures, such as those at roasting facilities like one in Mbale staffed predominantly by women.
Taking charge of quality assurance at Darling Coffee, Phoebe Nabutale represents this new generation. Raised in a family dedicated to coffee farming, she balances her senses as she roasts beans to perfection, with friends inquisitively seeking advice on bursting into the coffee business themselves.
For Nandudu, whose objective includes exporting beans, the growing involvement of women signifies progress toward her goals. The shift of having more women consider “coffee as a business” marks a turning point and a promising future for Uganda’s women in agriculture.