Nkonkonjeru Earth Market

Slow Food Uganda, in December 2022, is launching an Earth Market in Nkokonjeru, along the Mukono Nyenga Highway. This is a strategic location, easily accessible to producers and potentially attracting many customers. The idea of establishing the Earth Market in Nkokonjeru was born in 2021 from the push of local producers, with the organization of a trial edition within the existing market. Since then, the process of preparing the event in a stable form has begun, coordinated by the Slow Food Communities of Buikwe District, the leadership of the Nkokonjeru Municipality, and the Municipality’s partner organizations.

The Earth Market is the result of the effort of producers from the Slow Food Communities of Nkokonjeru and Ngogwe in Buikwe District, with the goal of increasing access to good, clean and fair food for co-producers/consumers. Given the great local biodiversity, the goal is to make it accessible by bringing back the ancient knowledge of native food species that is gradually disappearing.

The Nkokonjeru Earth Market will host producers from different Slow Food communities in Uganda’s Buikwe district. The market will begin with 30 agroecological producers, longtime supporters of Slow Food Uganda’s Good, Clean and Fair philosophy. Among the products that will be featured at the Earth Market are: climbing yam, oyster nuts, mushrooms, kisubi banana, mpafu, mirandan passion fruit, aerial yam, Ndizi banana, nakitembe banana, and kisansa coffee. These products can be found on the Ark of Taste, and some of them, including climbing yams and kisansa coffee, are Slow Food Presidia. In addition, there will be handicrafts, dairy products, animals, chickens and eggs.

For the future, the aim is to create a permanent collective stall where items from producers can be stored and sold on non-market days.

For more information:
www.facebook.com/slowfooduganda

The establishment of the Slow Food Earth Market Nkonkonjeru has been done with funds from Agro-Ecology Fund under the project “Foster community-led initiatives in East Africa by enhancing agro-ecological productions and market access in response to the global crisis”.