Coffee beyond borders: CoffeeXchange Bridges Two Worlds. How Young People Are Making Global Coffee Trade More Equitable

Guest author: Johannes Leberer, Schorlemer Stiftung

How can global coffee trade become more equitable? To explore this question, five young adults from Germany traveled to Uganda to meet their partner group. Over two intensive weeks, they experienced firsthand how the coffee value chain operates on the ground. Welcome to CoffeeXchange, a German-Ugandan youth exchange program implemented by the Schorlemer Foundation in partnership with the Young Farmers’ Federation of Uganda (UNYFA).

Hands-On Experience in Uganda: From Farm to Cooperative

Following the official project launch in May, the foundation selected 10 candidates from Germany and Uganda based on defined criteria. After a kickoff workshop focused on team building and intercultural awareness, participants dove straight into Uganda’s coffee world. German participants completed three-day internships on their Ugandan tandem partners’ coffee operations – from smallholder farms to established cooperatives. “It was incredibly interesting to see how our colleagues manage their operations and everything that goes into growing coffee. You could really feel the passion with which they farm. They were so happy to share their knowledge with us,” one German participant reflected enthusiastically. At the Kibinge Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society, the young people learned about the entire value chain – from cultivation through processing to roasting and marketing. Particularly impressive was the visit to a coffee family near Masaka who expanded their operation from 1.5 to over 100 hectares in 15 years. “The warm welcome at the family farm really touched me,” reported one participant.

Expert Knowledge and Looking Ahead to Germany

Before the second exchange phase in Germany, participants deepened their knowledge through a five-part webinar series with international experts. Topics from October to November included direct trade models, certification systems, EU regulations, financing solutions, and climate-adapted coffee cultivation.
December brings the encounter phase in Germany. Ugandan participants will learn about the other side of the value chain: excursions to Fairtrade Germany, GEPA, Mulembe Kaffee, and the Johann Jacobs Haus, plus short-term internships at specialty coffee roasteries are planned. The final workshop provides an important networking opportunity with additional actors from the German coffee sector. “Our goal is for this program to not only generate knowledge, but also create genuine business relationships,” explains Johannes Leberer, project coordinator at the Schorlemer Foundation.

CoffeeXchange builds on the successful collaboration between the Schorlemer Foundation and UNYFA, who have already successfully implemented the International Young Farmers’ Exchange Program (IYFEP) in recent years.

The project is funded through the “Teams up! Youth Encounters for Sustainable Development” program line of the German-African Youth Office (DAJW) with resources from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The focus is on UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The project is divided into several phases: alongside the encounter trips, the exchange is accompanied by topic-specific webinars. The tandems then work together continuously until March 2026, developing business plans and presenting their ideas for greater fairness in the coffee sector.

Further information can be found on the Schorlemer Foundation website.

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