Empowering Women in Coffee: How Bayaaya Specialty Coffee is Growing in Uganda.

Meridah Nandudu wanted more women in Uganda to grow coffee. She paid women more money for their coffee beans. This simple idea helped many women get involved. More women started bringing coffee to sell. Now, her group has over 600 women, most of the coffee farmers she works with.

Nandudu wants to change things for women in coffee. Women do a lot of work to grow coffee, she said. But men often take the money when it is sold. Uganda is a big coffee producer in Africa. The country makes a lot of money from selling coffee to other countries.

Nandudu grew up in a village where coffee was important. She saw women working hard in the coffee fields. But when the coffee was sold, men controlled the money. She noticed that fights would happen when men sold coffee. Women could not ask for money for food or school.

Nandudu went to college and then started her own company. Her company helps women who grow coffee in Uganda. She named it 'Bayaaya,' which means 'sisterhood.' Bayaaya buys coffee from farmers and sells it to other countries. But it is special because it focuses on helping women.

Nandudu pays women a little more for their coffee. This helps women earn more money and gives them a chance. It also encourages men to let their wives sell coffee. Women in Nandudu's group are now working together and making decisions about money. They can now afford things like soap and sugar, without arguing with their husbands.