Background information
The Kyotera Biikira Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society Limited is a registered cooperative in Uganda’s Kyotera District. Formed with the goal of enhancing the coffee bean value chain, the cooperative focuses on improving production, marketing, and advocating for coffee farmers. Its mission is to empower these farmers, fostering their household welfare through sustainable agriculture, income diversification, and advocacy. Since its formation, Kyotera Biikira Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society has actively sought partnerships, including with the Government of Uganda and the World Bank, to boost coffee quality and quantity. They’ve also invested in infrastructure like a coffee hulling machine and storage facilities to expand their market reach, with aspirations of obtaining fair trade certification and connecting directly with international buyers.
TDC Coaching program
The Trade for Development Centre (TDC), a programme by Enabel, offers a coaching track in sustainability and decent work aimed at Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and Producer’s Organisations (POs) in Africa. This “tailor-made” programme, delivered on-site over 4-5 modules across two years, helps organisations integrate environmental sustainability and decent work principles into their day-to-day management. It provides practical tools and good practices for addressing human rights, equality, and environmental risks, promoting gender certification and female entrepreneurship, ensuring climate resilience, and complying with European regulations on data collection and reporting. The ultimate goal is to enhance organisational legitimacy and transparency while fostering sustainable production and consumption chains.
Prior to the coaching process, the TDC’s preliminary training provided MSMEs and producer organisations with practical data collection skills across market, financial, environmental, and decent work domains, significantly improving their capacity for SWOT analysis, cost price calculation, financial accounting, and risk management related to human rights and environmental due diligence. This initial reinforcement, aided by design thinking, fostered co-creation and better self-knowledge, with participants expressing a strong desire for practical training, enhanced understanding of sustainable agriculture, and technical data collection expertise to boost their cooperative’s marketing and international market reach.
