Background information
Kihungu Kasebere Cooperative Society ltd started in 2006 by coffee farmers in the sub county of Kitabu, Kasese District, western Uganda. It has a membership of 235 (125 males 110 female). The society has a mandate of mobilizing and supporting its members to increase their coffee production, productivity, value addition and pool marketing.
Kihugu Kaserebe cooperative is a member of Bukonzo join union which supports it through agriculture financing and linkage to markets. Of recent it acquired from Oiko credit buying and selling of coffee from the farmers.
The cooperative initiated the process of organic and forest alliance/ UTZ certification but due to financial constraints has not yet acquired these: thus, missing out on the anticipated benefits of selling to the wider export market.
TDC Coaching program
The primary objective of the coaching in sustainability and decent work is to enable MSMEs and POs to integrate environmental sustainability and decent work challenges into the day-to-day management of their organisation. The coaching provides examples of good practices and tools for implementing or improving these aspects.
The coaching in sustainability and decent work can strengthen the cooperation’s structure. They can be grouped into three main categories. First, sustainability and human rights, which includes developing tools to identify, monitor, and address risks related to human rights, equality, and the environment. This involves implementing policies and action plans, as well as mastering voluntary standards and European regulations. Second, gender equality and entrepreneurship, which focuses on promoting gender certification, such as a gender equality seal, and supporting female entrepreneurship. Third, organisational and farmer support, which covers improving data collection and reporting, calculating the gap between household income and a living wage, and promoting environmentally friendly farming practices like agroecology and agroforestry. It also addresses the internal functioning of the cooperative, such as optimizing general meetings, diagnosing the organizational structure of different sections, identifying members’ needs, and improving member loyalty.
