Co-op Scholar Darcy Small, Co-op Intern Brody Smith and the start-up, Bugisu Project

When Co-op Scholar Darcy Small and former Co-op Intern Brody Smith travelled to Uganda to work with local agriculture students as part of an exchange between UNSW Engineering and Uganda’s Gulu University, they were particularly struck by the disconnect between coffee-obsessed Australians back home and the people growing coffee beans in Uganda.

“It was just the absurdity of how little these farmers are paid for their produce and how much we pay for a cup of coffee in Australia,” says Small, a fifth-year Photovoltaics and Solar Energy Engineering student.

And so the idea for the Bugisu Project - a student-led coffee start-up thinking big in terms of gender equality, fair distribution of profits and a zero waste policy - was born.

This month, Bugisu Project commenced their soft-launch with five Australian workplaces on board.

For the full amazing story read on.