Old Simon had the breakthrough of his life

After turning 60 years in absolute poverty, Simon was close to resigning and accepting his fate.Dying poor under a leaky roof, with no money for medical bills, unable to pay for transport, always walking arduously through the mountains as well as hard work loading and unloading trucks in the city to earn a living.In 2010, Old Simon – as he is known in the local community – joined the Nyakabingo United Organic Farmer Family Learning Group in western Uganda with his family.In the group, they learned to use organic farming methods and cooperate with 19 other farming families.

Against Simon's resigned expectation, it soon paid off.Labor costs were reduced, soil erosion from the sloping fields was reduced, and they learned to make and use compost and plant extracts against pests.

“After just eleven months of implementing the organic practice, our coffee yield had more than doubled.The quality of our coffee has also improved significantly in terms of bean size and weight per volume,” says Simon.

Economic benefit from bulking the harvest

In the following years, Simon took responsibility for collecting the coffee harvest from the 20 family farms in the group.Because of the larger quantity, they got a two percent increase in price.Then the group joined a cooperative and the coffee was certified organic.The agricultural group now also roasts some of the coffee itself and sells it in the local community and at the hotels in the western Ugandan town of Kasese.

"Our village is located in a difficult-to-access mountain area, where it takes over an hour to drive the mere 23 kilometres on a very steep, narrow road to the nearest town.Eleven years ago, we used to carry the coffee on our heads and on our backs, but now our harvest is transported by truck because the quantity and the price make it profitable.”

Goodbye to hopeless poverty

The Nyakabingo United Organic Farmer Family Learning Group – of which Simon's family is a part – works together every Wednesday and Saturday.They have helped each other establish vegetable gardens in each family farm.Here, the women in particular harvest and sell the vegetables to get an income for the family.

With a big smile, Simon says:"The increased and steady flow of income in our family means that we are no longer dependent on loans. My wife is not constantly asking for money for the household, we have built a permanent, tight house and I pay school fees for my children and grandchildren without delay."

Interview and text: Bihundira Gilbert, KOFLEC
Photos: Kule Jockus, Jocks Media