photographs by Gerald Businge Ateenyi
 

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Jerome Hubbard, second-year graduate student at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, traveled to Uganda where much of the coffee consumed in America is grown. Coffee accounts for 64% of the Uganda’s export revenues, according to the Ugandan Coffee research Centre.

Click to his website to see his journey that will make you think about the cup of coffee you drink every morning.

Hubbard wrote journal entries about his travels and produced videos about farms and factories telling the story of what life is like producing coffee in Uganda.

During the winter months of 2010, the Africa Reporting class traveled to various countries in sub-Saharan Africa and while traveling each student focused on a specific topic. The topics ranged from coffee manufacturing to beer brewing. Each photograph displayed shows what each student saw during their travels.

photo taken by Neelima Mahajan who traveled to Uganda

Yowana Simuya, a coffee farmer in the Nashanne village in Bududa district is pointing to his farm. Two-thirds of his farm has been devastated due to a landslide that occurred in August. He now lives in fear because there is a huge crack on what’s left of his farm and another heavy rain could easily devastate his entire land. The Bududa district has been experiencing terrible landslides since last year and several farmers lost their lives, as well as their farms.

photo taken by Paige Ricks who traveled to Uganda

In the United States, many relate beer drinking as a national pastime: A thing to do while watching Monday night football or barbecuing on the Forth of July. But, in Southern Uganda, men and women brew and drink beer to cure infectious diseases and lower malnutrition rates. Photographed is ajon, the traditional beer beverage in the Moda village of Kumi.

photo taken by Mwendalubi Maumbi who traveled to Kenya

In addition to erratic rain, pastoral farmers in Kenya have to deal the scarcity of land required to allow cattle to graze in the open. Above, Lawrence Njuguna Munyua, a successful dairy farmer, demonstrates a technique of planting Narpia Grass, used for fodder, for optimum yields.

photo taken by Jerome Hubbard who traveled to Uganda

Uganda is one of the largest producers of coffee in sub-Saharan Africa. The countries high altitude, high rainfall and mild climate are suited conditions for growing coffee. Above is a photo of a women workers picking out healthy coffee beans in a coffee factory in Kampala, the country’s capital.

In a tiny village in Senegal, the film below paints a portrait of a family living on the ragged edges of globalization. Questions of work and ambition arise as the family prepares for Tabaski, the biggest holiday of the year.

video by Clare Major

Feast & Sacrifice from Clare Major on Vimeo.

Interview with Eric Holt-Gimenez, Executive Director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy from Bryan Gibel and Elizabeth-Laure Njipwo on Vimeo.

Central Valley Agriculture from Laurel Moorhead and Lily Mihalik on Vimeo.

Technology and its impact on farming from Jerome Hubbard on Vimeo.

Q: Are there crops grown in California that you believe would successfully grow in Africa?

A: “In terms of the crops that are already grown [in Africa] that are similar to [California], we can provide new varieties and new technology to do better. I feel that there are several countries in Africa, where some of the crops that are so popular and successful in California can be introduced and made into a cash crop — instead of worrying about the staple foods, which is important. In Africa, crops that are exported, like cocoa to make coffee, can also produce an income.” – Dr. Ganesan Srinivasan, director of the University Agricultural Laboratory at California State University at Fresno

Mali is one of the largest countries in Africa and also one of the poorest countries in the World. Half the population lives below the international poverty line and a third of the population depend on cotton to survive.

videography and production by Amanda Martinez

White Gold: Tracing Cotton and Fashion in Africa from Amanda Martinez on Vimeo.