Mountains of the Moon - Supporting Gender Equity in the Coffee Industry
The mountain range of East Africa, at the source of the Nile River, is referred to as the Mountains of the Moon. This is where Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union (BJCU) is located.
Mountains of the Moon is part of our Coffee of Distinction series highlighting some of the top-scoring, small lot, specialty coffees from around the world. This years’ Mountains of the Moon is sourced from Kyalhumba Microlot – a top-scoring coffee contender at the BJCU Microlot Cupping Competition and one of the many producer families that make up Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union.
What makes small lot coffees special is that it allows producers to pay special care and attention to each crop and the land, which in turn creates nutrient rich soil to help bring out the unique qualities in each coffee.
Why We Love Working with Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union
Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union uses a gender-inclusive program called Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) that improves gender equity and communication, thereby enabling women to participate in coffee production at the same level as men. By supporting BJCU, you are supporting women in coffee.
We have been partners with BJCU since 2014. Since then, we have donated $10,000 to fund a cupping lab at BJCU, sponsored representatives from BJCU to attend Specialty Coffee Association events and created Mountains of the Moon in 2020 where all proceeds were donated to the flood relief efforts in their community.
At Salt Spring Coffee, we value long-term partnerships that provide stability to coffee communities. We look forward to sharing these small lot coffees with you.