Dana Siedem is a Co-Founder and Director of The Coffee Gardens. Dana has been passionate about coffee since her studies at the University of Life Sciences, Prague, when she first discovered that coffee can be grown in an eco-friendly, forest like environment. After moving to Ethiopia in 2013, she became interested in understanding better the relationship between coffee quality, the environment and the socio-economic conditions of coffee producers.
She co-founded The Coffee Gardens after two years of living in Uganda and observing the local coffee growing and processing practices - and dreaming of trying something new. Prior to starting this venture, she co-founded a coffee company with her sister in her hometown Prague.
Shakeel Padamsey is a Co-Founder and Director at The Coffee Gardens. He has worked in development in Eastern, Southern and the Horn of Africa for 9 years, focusing on social enterprises and businesses increasing incomes for those living in poverty. Shak has a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and is particularly interested in setting up systems to monitor and improve quality. He also enjoys capacity building staff to help organisations grow.
Shak wanted to set up The Coffee Gardens with Dana and Micheal to make a positive impact on society and the environment - and to work together on achieving her dream. Like everyone on the team, Shak believes that - in order for The Coffee Gardens to succeed - it is crucial to support farmers to flourish and live with dignity.
Michael Buteera Mugisha is a Co-Founder and non-executive Director at The Coffee Gardens. He has Master’s degrees from the London Metropolitan University and the London School of Economics. Trained as an economist and statistician, and lecturing at Makerere University, Kampala, Michael also has a rich background working with smallholder coffee farmers in the Central region of Uganda, specialised in natural Robusta coffee.
Michael’s day job with a large coffee company places him as key part of a team managing a credit portfolio of 1 million USD extended to smallholder Robusta growing farmers. His role also involves farmer assessment, risk analysis, and research and evaluation studies. Michael’s broad experience and knowledge makes him a perfect co-founder of The Coffee Gardens, and he advises on program design and implementation.
Michael loves reading politics, playing and watching football, listening to country music, and participating in stimulating discussions that help us to become better citizens.
Job Namugowa first started working with The Coffee Gardens as a temporary translator when meeting our very first farmers - Lawrence and Jennifer. Quickly he became a Field Officer overseeing the processing practices and working closely with farmers. Now, Job is the Processing and Field Manager, overseeing the field and processing staff, interns and casual labours.
Job has a degree in IT from the Islamic University in Mbale, but is happy to be working in agriculture and improving the productivity of farmers in his home region. Job knows first hand the value of agriculture, as his studies were financed by the farming activities of his family.
As his name indicates, Job is hardworking and focused on delivering results. In his spare time, he likes playing and watching football, eating fish and rice and being on time.
Racheal Wanyenze joined our team as a Processing Intern and is now the Senior Processing Officer. Racheal is our rock. Solid, quiet and dependable, she runs the station when Job isn't around (and often when he is).
As a woman in a leadership position in our company, she is a role model for the women in our team and our community. There's nothing she can't do, so there's nothing they can't do either.
Racheal previously worked in a hospital and is using that experience by supporting Job on HR matters, procurement and data entry.
Racheal is a mother of four girls and enjoys growing vegetables. If she ever finds spare time, she relaxes by reading fiction.
Samuel Kisolo is the Senior Field Officer at The Coffee Gardens, working closely with our farmers and providing training. He is responsible for sourcing our coffee, running up and down the mountain with his team of field officers, visiting every single garden, and making sure that our coffee is fully traceable and perfectly ripe. Sam has an extensive experience in coffee sourcing and agricultural extension work.
Sam also has a background as a social worker after he finished his degree in development. He has worked both in the non-profit and private sectors and also experienced living and working abroad. For the last few years, he has been living and working back in his home area of Sironko.
Ivan Zesiro is a Field and Sourcing Officer who is working closely with Samuel on sourcing coffee cherries and coordinating our team of runners to transport coffee down the mountains during harvest season.
Ivan works together with the whole team during the off-season to train farmers on good agricultural practices, financial literacy and tree planting. Ivan lives in the village nearby the station with his family, and in his free time he loves farming in his family gardens.
He frequently tells us one reason he enjoys his work with farmers is because he is a passionate farmer himself.
Jackline Nafuna is our Field and Processing Officer. She trains our farmers during the off-season and works on coffee processing during the harvest season.
Jackie lives in the village near the station and first started as a coffee sorter two years ago but quickly showed lots of potential and interest in coordinating the sorters group and working as part of a team. This meant we had to bring on as a full time member of our team last year! With her earnings and knowledge, she started her own small coffee garden - and we can’t wait to taste her coffee when it’s ready!
John Wadamba is one of our Field Officers and Processing Assistants, who also works on coffee processing during the harvest season. John lives close to the processing station and demonstrated a strong work ethic and high attention to detail.
John has one daughter, called Grace (named after his mother), and is working hard to save money in order to train to become a teacher. He enjoys watching and playing football in his spare time, as well as tending to his coffee gardens, banana trees and livestock.
Policarp Mudondo is also one of our Field Officers and Processing Assistants, who works on coffee processing. He lives in the village close to the processing station and, like John, impressed the whole team with his hard work and diligence.
Despite his age, Mudondo already has a number of coffee gardens and livestock - and wants to save up for school fees, so he can become an engineer. Mudondo is also a keen football player and watcher.
Alex Wakisi is also our Field Officer and Processing Assistant.
Alex recently finished his high school in Mbale city and quickly saw an opportunity to develop his skills with us while supporting his own community. He is also happy to be able to spend his spare time (when he gets some!) with his mother and brothers, and listening to music and playing football.
Winnie Namutebi is our Mbale Drying Yard Officer. Every single kilogram of our parchment coffee passes through Winnie's hands and under her gaze. Winnie is our quality controller, making sure every batch is perfectly sorted and at the exact right moisture before it goes to the store.
Winnie is naturally a person that is interested in always learning more and asking questions. Although she was a tailor by profession, she has found that working with coffee (although not as colourful) can be equally interesting. In her free time, Winnie loves cooking and fashion!
Donald Kiima is our Quality Control Manager. He stepped into the coffee industry in 2004, not having a clue about the thrilling adventure that lay ahead. Fast forward to becoming a barista, where he got to experience the magic of turning beans into captivating creations. But that was just the beginning. His insatiable curiosity led him to dive headfirst into the world of coffee, from the lush coffee farms to the global export stage. Now, he found himself at the dawn of a new and electrifying chapter, working with The Coffee Gardens. As he says: "Together, we are on a mission to bring the finest quality coffees to the world, fueled by an unwavering dedication to our craft."
Míša Šrámková is a consultant for The Coffee Gardens. The main part of her work is currently on digital payment rollout among farmers, operational data monitoring and analysis, and marketing & social media. She also very much enjoys her time in the field - either at the processing station, with the farmers in Upper Bukyabo, or on the TCG's social projects.
Africa has been Míšaʼs second home for the past five years. She has experience working with South African NGOs on community tourism development activities in Kalahari and Ai-Ais Richtersveld NP. Currently, she supports activities in different libraries/educational centers across Eastern Africa within the Bookfeeding Project while doing her Ph.D. research on menstrual health implications for women in low- and middle-income countries.
In her free time, you most probably find her scrambling or climbing some rocks, or running in the forest with a map.
Buna is The Coffee Gardens’ tiniest team member and is helping to keep our processing station secure. Buna was brought to us in November 2018, after she was found as an malnourished puppy.
She is now a happy dog, getting fed twice a day and having a bunch of exercise. She patrols the station, and keeps us company.
IN MEMORY
Richard Galusha was The Coffee Gardens’ Field Officer but tragically passed away on the 28th of January 2019 after a car accident.
He had only recently joined the team but, as he often joked, had been working in coffee since before he was born. Galusha was instrumental in establishing The Coffee Gardens’ washing station and then worked hard to source ripe coffee cherries during the harvest season. More importantly, Galusha was a kind, thoughtful person who cared for his family, his colleagues and his community.
He always had a positive attitude and had an contagious laugh - and this is how we will always remember him.