One cup of coffee can have a cascading impact felt across the world. So says the philosophy of the Grosse Pointe-based Noble Gorilla Foundation, set up recently as a 501(c)3 focused on bettering the livelihoods of coffee farmers in the gorilla habitat of southwest Uganda and, in turn, protecting the rainforest habitat and gorilla population by taking away the need to forage or poach for food.
“You’ve got to sustain the homes and the hearts of the people to then help sustain the habitat where the gorillas live,” Director of Noble Gorilla Foundation Fiona Tanner Quinlan said, adding that around 500 of the 1,100 mountain gorillas left in the world live in southwest Uganda
In partnership with the Gorilla Highlands Coffee Association in Uganda, the foundation works with approximately 2,400 farmers, many of whom have half-acre to one-acre farms, on ways to get more revenue for the two- to three-week process each crop takes. If the farmers are struggling, they may pick unripe cherries to get the quickest cash when they need it and only get a nominal amount of money for their effort. Bright red bracelets, the color of ripe coffee cherries, from the foundation remind them that waiting brings far more reward.
Similar to the idea of “farm to table” in Michigan, the foundation also is working to set up direct trade roasted at origin, where the association roasts the coffee directly in Uganda and air freights it every month to Michigan. Since nearly 75 percent of the value of coffee is between the green bean and the roasted coffee, this method aims to keep the value within the country of origin.
The first shipment arrived Aug. 26, and will be available for purchase the week of Sept. 20, at Fresh Farms Market, as well as Church of the Messiah in Detroit, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on World Gorilla Day, Thursday, Sept. 24. Proceeds will go toward rainjacks, gumboots and head flashlights for 20 Uganda Wildlife Authority park rangers, who prevent poaching. Any additional donations will go toward further purchases for more of the 100 rangers working in the area.
“It is just an initial shipment to see the difficulty and the reality of it, but if we demonstrate that we can do this, it’s a wonderful opportunity to buy directly and support that,” Tanner said. “We will have an internet-based sales strategy sooner or later on the Gorilla Highlands Coffee (website), which will be linked into the foundation’s website.”
Falling under the umbrella of its efforts to better the livelihoods of the Ugandan farmers currently are four main projects: Poachers to Protectors of Mountain Gorillas, Gorilla Highlands Coffee Clubs, House of Bwindi Fashion and Crafts, and the Kawacare Health Program.
Poachers to Protectors was born in June in response to the sharp loss of income from coffee and tourism due to COVID-19 and aimed to prevent farmers from hunting for bush meat. More than 100 of the foundation’s farmers with the best practices were sent vegetable seeds, chickens and goats, with the intention that the first of the new animals born would be given to the next family who hadn’t received anything in the first round.
Through Gorilla Highlands Coffee Clubs, the foundation will work with its second boarding school this year to provide coffee seedlings through the Uganda Coffee Development Authority. Ninth-grade students will then commit to learning to grow and harvest the coffee, which will be ready to be harvested by the time they’re seniors. The foundation will then purchase the coffee at direct trade prices and the students’ revenues will go toward supporting 70 to 80 percent of their college tuition.
“If you get the younger generations really in love with their land, then you’re going to have the stewardship that passes generation to generation,” Tanner said, “and they’ll maintain that stewardship and maintain that balance, which is so important for the habitats and for those living in places like this.”
Since 60 percent of the farmers involved are women, the House of Bwindi Fashion and Crafts program teaches them to sew and create items tourists might want to buy. This year, the team will show the women how to sew school uniforms for their children.
The fourth project, the Kawacare Health Program, currently provides Gorilla Highlands Coffee Association team members with health insurance and aims to roll out the program for another 50 farmers each year. The insurance costs $150 per farmer and is paid for by donations.
“We don’t have a lot of resources, but we just keep doing it,” Tanner said. “We just believe that if we do it, we’re going to break on through and we’re going to create a momentum that people will hear about what we’re doing (and) people that want to support can support us through the foundation.”
Tanner’s future goals for the foundation, run by herself and her husband, John Quinlan, include seeing all 2,400 farmers gain health insurance and have access to tuition fees for their children, as well as seeing Gorilla Highlands Coffee become consistently available within the United States as a specialty coffee.
Plans to bring in the coffee with a potential commercial distributor in the U.S. were well underway before the pandemic tampered with them.
“If coffee is such an everyday necessity to people, then why not take that opportunity to spend the money on a coffee that will actually make an impact and a difference?” Tanner asked.
Those interested may visit noblegorilla.org or gorillahighlandscoffee.com for more information or to make donations. There also is an option to sign up to be notified when the coffee becomes available in Michigan.
“I know that if I just keep planting the seeds and doing what I’m doing, that other things will continue to grow, (which) is one of my favorite beliefs,” Tanner said. “I plant a seed, someone else can help me water it, but it’s God and it’s light that makes it grow.”
About Guide2Uganda
Guide2Uganda (www.guide2uganda.ug) is the most comprehensive source of information about Uganda that exists on the web, with more content on Uganda and surrounding towns, attractions, museums and galleries than any other online guide that currently exists for Uganda as well as being a dynamic news and comprehensive events driven site with content being added daily.
According to WeFollow & Peer Index (whom both measure online influence) we are among the most influential online media organizations in Uganda. We were also awarded for ‘’Best Destination Website in Uganda’’ by Jumia Travel Uganda in the 2017-2018 Africa Travel Awards. If you are planning a visit to Uganda you can always reach us on; info@guide2uganda.ug
