Good Harvest Trading quality community products are all handcrafted in Uganda, Africa. We are located in Southwestern Uganda in the city of Mbarara. Uganda has a population of 32.7 million and a life expectancy of 53 years. The literacy rate is relatively high for Africa at 75%. The infant mortality rate is also high at 80%. HIV/AIDS has dropped in recent years due to an aggressive publicity campaign to educate people about how it is spread. The rate of HIV prevalence is 5.4% . Although there are many improvements in Uganda and an increase in wealth, less than 60% of children complete primary school.
Mbarara is a city of about 83 000 people, although the district of Mbarara has about 450,000. Mbarara is the third largest city in Uganda, following Kampala and Jinja. However, it is still a town where it is not unusual to see goats grazing on the side of the road and where the roads are often more holes than tarmac. The city boasts many banks and gas stations, but no chain stores or franchises, which are now common in Kampala. Many of the successful local business owners are people emigrating from India. While Mbarara is growing, and there is more wealth, there is still a scarcity of quality medical services and affordable quality education. In Mbarara are a fairly significant number of expatriates who work in both the missions sector and the public service sector. There are 2 universities that have ties with international programs for guest lecturers and research opportunities. The government hospital is a teaching hospital, connected to the university.
The area around Mbarara is primarily a farming area – often called the land of milk and honey due to the many dairy farms and bee keeping projects. The rolling hillsides are covered with small plantations of Matoke – a green banana which is the staple food -- maize, and beans. Most farms are owned by subsistence farmers – they are only able to grow enough to feed their families. If they are fortunate, and the weather agreeable, many will also grow enough extra in order to pay for the basics: food items like tea and sugar, minor medical costs and school fees for their children. There are some farmers who are growing coffee or other cash crops, but mostly the land is used for growing food for personal consumption or raising animals.
Good Harvest Trading office is located in Mbarara but our main focus for the projects will be in the rural areas surrounding the city.
Good Harvest Trading provides quality local products through partnerships and enterprises which transform local communities.