Kyomuhangi Rose started coffee farming 24 years ago and has seen coffee development in Shuuku Sub Country growing since 1999. Rose who hails from Nyakazumo village, Shuuku Town Council, Sheema district is a mother to 6 children with 1 girl and 5 boys.

Rose lives approximately 5 kilometres from Shuuku Town Council Centre where she operates a small shop and coffee huller machine. To Rose a lot of changes have taken place in her life and in her family. She remembers very well how she used to dig her small garden of banana plantation and how her husband would ride on an old Hero bicycle from home-to-home buying coffee beans for middlemen and earning UGX2,500 per day as his labour for the day.

“We would depend on the half an acre garden of banana for food and some for sale as we needed other non-food items in the house like paraffin, soap and salt.” Rose narrated. “My husband and I did go far with education; we could not even bother looking for jobs in Mbarara. Our first born had to repeat primary seven because we could not afford his school fees and secondary school requirements. I felt sorry for my son.” She added.

Rose was among the first members of Shuuku Sacco. She got her first loan in 1999, the time when government was providing free coffee seedling. The loan was used for buying a piece of land where she planted some coffee. “My husband had also joined the Sacco, he got a loan and started buying his own coffee from smallholder farmers for resale in bulk.

Rose’s husband’s business grew so fast, he paid off his loan before the period and got a bigger loan for buying a coffee husk huller. Rose started husking and packing her coffee alongside her husband’s and after the 4^th harvest, she bought her own coffee husks huller. Rose’s husband transferred his machine to another trading centre so as Rose could operate within the town council.

Rose later on registered her own coffee company. The company deals in buying, producing and processing coffee and selling coffee. She has bought a small truck for easy transportation and currently helping her husband to complete their family house. Of the 6 children, one has successfully completed University, one is in her final year at the University, two are in secondary school and two are still in primary school. Rose is very sure that her children will acquire degree from recognised universities and those who want to continue to master’s will be supported.

Much as Rose lacks modern coffee farming skills, she has plans of expanding farm, adding more coffee hullers, and grading coffee for export. She feels Shuuku Sacco is the leading Sacco in their district and recommended that Shuuku should increase on their amount of loan.