My name is Mukurima Muriuki, I am a second-generation Kenyan coffee farmer who now lives in Los Angeles and co-founder of Joro Coffee.

My grandfather who I am named and under whose tutelage I grew up, used to share shocking stories of life growing up under a dehumanizing colonial rule. According to colonial policy, Africans were meant to provide free labor in the settlers’ farms and were not accorded any education.

After attaining independence and freedom, known in the Kiswahili language as “Uhuru” Africans finally had access to the land once controlled by colonial powers. For the first time, Africans could grow crops like coffee, earn a livelihood, and better their lives. 

Today, sadly, most small-scale coffee farmers have yet to taste the true “Uhuru” of their labor. Despite African coffee being one of the most highly sought-after coffees in the world, the farmers do not get a fair share of the market value because the supply chain process is rigged against the farmer.