Uganda - Semuliki Forest
Jeff Steinberg founded Latitude Trade Company as a vertically integrated social enterprise in 2016. After several years working with organizations and multi-national companies to measure social impact, Jeff became fascinated with the idea of a company that could sustainably support thousands of rural African farmers on a day-to-day basis. The team discovered a gap in the market for quality Ugandan cocoa and, through a willingness to learn and experiment, decided to build an industry from scratch to focus on just this – looking to establish a new reputation for quality Ugandan cocoa and to redefine an origin. Indeed, the name ‘Latitude’ refers to where this journey started, in the town of Kasese, Uganda, which sits on the equator – at exactly latitude 0°.
Latitude Trade Company works with over 2,500 contracted smallholder farmers (50% female) in Western Uganda to source freshly harvested organic certified cocoa. Each Latitude supplier cultivates a farm of one to five acres, which often also includes crops like banana, coffee, cassava, maize, beans and vanilla. The farms are located in Bundibugyo, a dense rainforest area at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains with an altitude of around 2820 ft above sea level. This lush rainy area is prime for growing cocoa in a biodiverse environment.
Once the fresh cocoa has been purchased and quality checked it’s transported to the nearby Latitude central fermentation facility in Kasese. At the facility, the Latitude team ferments the cocoa in wooden boxes for a period of 6-7 days, before drying on raised beds in the sun for another 6-7 days, until it reaches a stable moisture level. The beans are hand sorted before blended batches for consistent specifications.
Latitude’s aim is to create a sustainable supply chain, which serves both farmers and chocolate companies.
