I say to pretty much anybody who is willing to listen that Uganda is full of entrepreneurs. There are so many individuals and community groups doing wonderful work in Uganda and I want to share a couple of them with you in this post.

First up is Lamaro Studio. Based in Gulu in Northern Uganda, Lamaro Studio is a unique gift store that provides a curated selection of eco-friendly items made by women designers and artisans in Uganda. All of their items are ethically sourced and they are made of one-of-a-kind items from women that are part of community based groups. You can follow some of their work on social media by using the hashtag #UGwomeninbiz.

Led by Norah, who I had the pleasure of speaking to over the phone last week, they are an ambitious organisation and hope to represent many individual women and promote their work worldwide. It's with great enthusiasm that we're hoping to launch a partnership with Lamaro Studio, and we hope to add some of their wonderful items to our online store in the very near future.

Second is Kasese Restoration. A Ugandan registered CBO, Kasese Restoration Centre works with people in Kasese who create unique and creative pieces of jewellery and other souvenirs out of often discarded materials. Their work is stunning and beautiful, and as partners of Lamaro studio, we hope to offer you the opportunity to buy some of these beautiful pieces in the near future also.

How does this tie in with buying coffee, you might ask?

And you'd be right to. At the outset, partnering with such organisations doesn't seem logical. However, at Bora we want to support and partner with organisations such as the two outlined above who are using 'trade not aid' as a way of supporting organisations to diversify and thrive.

One of the most important things for us when we source our coffee is that there is an ethical supply chain in place. What impressed me so much about Lamaro Studio is their ethical supply chain and their willingness to support entrepreneurs whose work may otherwise not reach a wider market.

We're really excited by the prospect of working with more community led Ugandan organisations, and we hope to have something for you very soon!