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Family Farminga Presidium. Since then the producers have been working on capacity build- ing, environmental conservation, indig- enous knowledge sharing and promot- ing traditional intercropping banana and coffee farming systems, which are more resilient to climate change. Special attention is paid to providing a high-quality product for the local mar- ket, as well as networking with various stakeholders at different levels of the coffee chain and other coffee-produc- ing communities around the country. Raising awareness among the local population about the benefits of drinking “good, clean and fair” coffee as well asempowering producers to deliver high- quality coffee directly to the local market are two of the solutions the network is working on in order to conquer the chal- lenges of the coffee sector. Today all the family farmers in the Presidium and other coffee-producing communities in the Slow Food network understand the importance of producing high-quality coffee for local consumption, not just for the international market. More coffee shops are now being opened around the country as more people are starting to understand different coffee qualities and how their selections and choices affect the local economy.Local coffee shops are the main vendors of coffee sourced directly from produc- ers, and they showcase the diversity of the coffee crop. They bring consumers closer to the producers, and get valuable feedback on quality aspects that are then explained to the producers as part of the improvement process. Drinking coffee locally means preserving Ugan- da’s long-standing traditions and cultural relationship with coffee, and recognizing the value of the family farmers who kept producing the crop through the good and bad times. It means widening a di- rect market base for more than a million coffee-farming households as well as contributing towards the preservation of our rich local biodiversity.22 almanaC© arChIVIo Slow Food