From June 4th through June 10th, the “Delicious Peace” documentary will be screened at IFC Center theater on 6th Ave and 3rd Street in Manhattan. Show times have not been set — but save the dates. And tell your friends!
If you’re unfamiliar with Delicious Peace, it’s the story of the Mirembe Kawomera (translated as “delicious peace”) coffee cooperative in Mbale, Uganda comprised of interfaith farming families of Christians, Muslims and Jews. These families set aside their religious and cultural differences to pool and sell their coffee crop to an artisan roaster in the United States.
Since its founding in 2004, the cooperative has been a success. It has increased yields and, by selling on the fair trade model, is realizing higher profits. The co-op now reinvests profits in land and equipment, diversifies to include vanilla beans, and offers microfinancing to members. It also contributes a fixed percentage of every sale to community public health and education projects.
This new economic prosperity is only part of their success. From the beginning, they realized that theirs is a unique story. Their current, elected leadership represents each religious group within their community. The co-op president is an Abayudaya Jew, the vice-president, a Christian and the treasurer, a Muslim. They are all African and, in doing something together that none of them could have done alone, they have built a successful business.
Indeed, a fair-trade, sustainable, African cooperative with interfaith members should be an inspiration to all of us. For more information of the coffee cooperative, please visit the Mirembe Kawomera website.
