Karem’s Blog: Common Goals, Common Action - Peace Kawomera, Uganda

Fair trade is something I feel very passionate about and so, as we enter Fair Trade Fortnight this week, I feel it is important to show how multi-faith action can also be relevant to this important cause.

This is the second in the series of blogs about successful multi-faith action for a common goal and it comes from the Mount Elgon region of Uganda. Here, a multi-faith fair trade coffee cooperative of Jews, Christians and Muslims was set up by local coffee farmers, empowering themselves together to make a better living, producing a coffee they named "Mirembe Kawomera" - "Delicious Peace."

In 2004, the Peace Kawomera Cooperative was founded when JJ Keki, a leader in the Jewish community, went to his Christian and Muslim neighbours door to door with the idea. Prior to the cooperative, the farmers had been struggling to support their families, but by putting their differences aside and working together they all gained from the new initiative.

The cooperative was formed on the basis of trust and peace, and is a powerful statement considering Uganda’s history of religious and tribal division. Not only has it helped farmers increase their income, but by giving them a common goal to work towards, it has also allowed members of different faiths to learn more about each other and improve their relationships in the community. Peace has been encouraged through joint action.

“We were selling at a low price to anyone who came by. Now we sell directly to the Peace Kawomera Cooperative and get a good price... Now we are together. Now I can sit with an Imam and we can preach together.”

Dan Kasakya, 55, Christian. 

In the first year, 250 farmers came together, setting up an executive board which represented the three faiths. With the support of a fair trade distributor, Thanksgiving Coffee Company in the USA, the project has grown and over 1,000 small-scale Ugandan farmers and their families are now part of the cooperative.

The coffee is Certified Organic, Fair Trade, Kosher and Halal. As well as getting a fair price for their coffee, farmers benefit through the fair trade premium. This money is invested by the cooperative in business development, training and community projects such as local schools, electricity and clean water. Some money is also spent on giving farmers and their families access to mosquito nets to protect them from malaria.

“We are working together, different tribes and different religions, together... Since Peace Kawomera started, Muslims can now go to a church and Christians can go to the mosque. During meetings, everyone can share ideas to develop the community.”

Sinina Namudosi, 22, Muslim.

Although the coffee is not yet available in the UK, citing its example serves as a reminder of the powerful potential of multi-faith cooperation. These farmers have come together to act upon their common need for an improved income. Success stories such as this can inspire us to join others in our own diverse communities to work together on our most pressing local and global needs.

“There is an interfaith working relationship between Muslims, Christians and Jews... People with a cooperating spirit develop quickly, (and) they live peacefully.”

Athalia Deborah, 32, Jewish.

To find out more about Peace Kawomera visit www.mirembekawomera.com. You can also watch a video about the cooperative above or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rw4QcFtWio.

If you are inspired to take multi-faith action in your own community then get in touch with us for ideas on how to start, or go to www.faithsact.org to join the global Faiths Act movement of people taking multi-faith action to end deaths due to malaria across the world.

Let's prove that faiths can act together for social justice and humanity.

Karem