Mariam Luyombo

"To start with, a lot of women are the ones in charge of their kitchens at home, and many of us are happy knowing we are able to access food specialties from back home."

"Its spices or knowing there is some matooke in the fridge."

"Pregnant women or women who just gave birth tend to have cravings for their comfort food, which in most cases is food they grew up eating like matooke."

"Our community has a lot of young women who are becoming parents and we love that we are able to provide that for them."

"We also work with women mainly in our supply chain."

"Our key buyer in Uganda is a woman."

"It’s important that we are providing extra income to the local farmers in Uganda, who are mainly women."

"We have women who wake up as early as 4a.m. to go to the farms in Kasese, to pick out which produce is suitable for export."

"Chakula Tamu has become more than a place you buy food. *People come here to socialize."

"To share with us. To share with one another. To share recipes."

"It’s more than just a grocery store."

"It began with one of the co-founders’ love for matooke. Matooke, also known as the East African Highland banana, is one of the staple foods of Uganda."

"We will be giving away a basket of organic East African food matooke, baby bananas (ndizi), garden egg (ntula), and more."

"As the business has grown, I also get a lot of satisfaction when I see my customer’s faces light up when they come to the store and see products from back home. *It’s now bigger than just me. It’s also now about the community. And the relationships we have built."