SANDY HAZEL met Ugandan coffee farmer Olivia Kishero during her recent trip to Ireland to promote Fairtrade Fortnight, and discovered a woman full of enthusiasm for work and life{mosimage}
Traditionally tea drinkers, the Irish nation has embraced the coffee culture. Cappucino, latte grande and espresso are now part of our morning rituals. Along with coffee habits we have also taken on the fair trade ethos, with sales of Fairtrade registered products growing 40 per cent in Ireland every year. Fairtrade Mark Ireland awards the logo to products and companies that meet certain ethical standards and the growth of the brand's popularity is consumer-driven. Cafédirect, one of the higher profile Fairtrade-registered companies, invited a Ugandan coffee farmer to Ireland to promote their products during Fairtrade fortnight in Ireland (26 February-11 March).Oliva Kishero is a young mother of seven children. She is petite with beautiful skin and perfect teeth. This visit, her first outside Uganda , was almost completely full up with press interviews and photocalls. Kishero has spent the last week visiting schools and buyers, and speaking to the media on the issues surrounding fair trade. She also addressed food experts and buyers at Catex, the food industry showcase at the Royal Dublin Society this week. As part of the Fairtrade promotion she is endorsing Cafédirect as a sustainable and ethical supplier of coffee to the world. Metro Eireann spoke with Kishero during her busy visit. We asked her how Cafédirect helped her: "Cafédirect and Fairtrade are good for our people and region. They have helped us with the organisation of our business. The benefit is that we can now plan for a future, pay for our children to have a better life. Part of the premium paid for our coffee comes to the farmer, but part also comes to the community. This helps with making better roads, building schools, creating training in quality and seminars for our members. The training is a priority. Our farmers are trained in what is required for the Fairtrade and Cafédirect coffee production. It is about quality in organic coffee and we need to train more people."
Kishero is adamant that education, of adults and the next generation is the key to improving conditions for all: "They say in our language that if you educate a man you educate a man, but if you educate a woman you educate the nation. The main thing is getting the education for our kids. It is simple, if Irish people buy our products then they are supporting that. There is universal [state] education in Uganda but if you pay fees you get a better quality education, so we now have the means to pay for this."
Although Kishero is active in the promotion and development in her area, she is keen to pass on her skills and training so people can do it for themselves, particularly women. Gender inequality has been a problem for generations of Ugandan women. Cafédirect's partnership with the Gumutindo Co-operative members has enabled them to develop with equal representation of female and male farmers. Through its development and training programmes Cafédirect has invested in management, administrative systems, marketing, export skills and strategic planning. Kishero insists that: "Now more women are participating more actively, handling money and being involved in decisions." Kishero's role as treasurer is a huge step in for women in Uganda as traditionally men dominated positions of power. Olivia was the first female to sit on the Board, and today the Board has equal male and female representation. Some of the men according to Olivia, were not happy with the new arrangements, but they see that it is benefiting their areas and now are more accepting." Many cynics have suggested that Cafédirect and Fairtrade's efforts are too small a gesture in our world of disparity. Some commentators claim that big global changes cannot be made 'just by buying an ethical brand of coffee' and that we are naive to think so. Kishero disagrees: "The size of the change is relative. When Irish people buy our products, it makes transformations happen. To us they are big changes. They mean a lot to us. That is why it is so important. It is not just women in Uganda who are benefiting, it is farmers all over the world. A small gesture from consumers in the developed world can have significant rewards for us."
