Delicious Peace: Religious Harmony and Fair Trade Coffee in Uganda

Mirembe Kawomera Coffee began with one man’s dream. In 2004, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer, walked door to door asking his Jewish, Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put aside old differences and come together. Their community of third and fourth generation coffee farmers was struggling to make a living off the low prices offered by the local market. With the assistance of Laura Wetzler from the US-based organization Kulanu (All of Us), these Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers formed a cooperative and joined with the Thanksgiving Coffee Company to build lasting prosperity in their villages and to spread a message of peace throughout the world. Join us on March 4th to hear JJ Keki, Laura Wetzler, three of the farmers from different religioius traditions, and Ben CoreyCorey-Moran from the Thanksgiving Coffee Company tell this extraordinary story. The lecture will be introduced by a visual and music presentation prepared by photographer Richard Sobol and ethnomusicologist Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit of Tufts Hillel, who have been conducting research with the cooperative in Uganda. The Institute for Global Leadership’s Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award will be presented to the Peace Kawomera Cooperative, Kulanu, and the Thanksgiving Coffee Company. Sponsored by the Institute For Global Leadershiop and Tufts Hillel’s Merrin Moral Voices Program