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UGANDA IN JANUARY, I LEFT MY HOME in the Redwoods of North- ern California to visit our coffee farming partners in Uganda. I hadnÕt visited them on their home turf for almost a decade. Over the last several years, Ben Corey Moran, our former director of coffee, deepened our relationships with cooperative leaders and farmers in Africa. It was my intention that this visit would strengthen those ties. Nicholas Hoskyns is a Brit who lives in Nicaragua, and for these coming weeks, he would be my traveling companion. Nick is an expert in cooperative management and business practices. HeÕs the president of the Ethical Trading Company (ETICO), an import-export company that has imported our [Thanksgiving Coffee CompanyÕs] Nicaraguan coffees for the last two years, and who we partner with on projects at origin. This tripÕs focus was on collaboration: How could our trading relationship improve quality of life for both coffee farmers and cof- fee roasters? ItÕs Thanksgiving CoffeeÕs position, and my personal belief, that quality of life and quality of coffee go hand-in-hand. There has to be opportunity for a better life in all parts of the coffee trading chain, from the farm to the cup. It is the farmersÕ love for their trees that makes good coffee great. There are also some sticky issues that have made this trip neces- sary. Last year, we had some hang-ups in the coffee supply chain. Mirembe Kawomera, our cooperative partner in Mbale, Uganda, was unable to produce a full container of coffee for us, and the ship- ment was eight months late. Orders were coming in and we couldnÕt substitute any other coffee for their package. What was going on? Nick came with me on this trip to examine the books and help with the supply chain logistics. JINJA We arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda at midnight and went straight to our hotel. We awoke the following morning to see a view of Lake Victoria from the hotel window. Lake Victoria is the headwaters to the Nile. I dipped my fingers into the water, just as I did the Mississippi River 50 years ago when I first crossed it. It felt goodÑI touched the Nile! Our first stop was in Jinja to visit a coffee cooperative that is producing organic Robusta coffee. I buy about 75,000 pounds of Robusta each year in our very popular blend Pony Express. This coop produces what might be the only organic Robusta in the world, so I was eager to meet the farmers. The weather was mild, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun was beginning to warm the top of my head. The farm belonging to Fredrick Kibalama, Opposite page, at top: A general store on the road to Mbale. Below: Paul poses for a photo with co-op chairman Fredrick Kibalama on Fredrick's farm. Note the large mango tree in the background and the banana tree under it to the le. This page: The defects tray about to be weighed at Gumutindo's dry mill. 37 www.baristamagazine.com B o o k 1 - 4 6 . i n d d 3 7 Book 1-46.indd 37 5 / 1 5 / 1 4 1 0 : 3 1 P M 5/15/14 10:31 PM