For JJ Keki, a leader of the Abayudaya Jewish community of Mbale, Uganda, coffee and inter-faith cooperation make a delicious blend.
Keki spoke at Brown/RISD Hillel yesterday about the history of the Abayudaya in Uganda and his own efforts to start a coffee cooperative that fosters religious tolerance and economic development. His visit was part of a speaking tour sponsored by the non-profit Kulanu, Inc., a Jewish organization that supports developing or dispersed Jewish communities around the world.
"We formed this cooperative not only to use coffee to improve the wellbeing of our community but also to spread our word of peace among the Mbale and other communities over the world," Keki said.
Keki's idea to start the cooperative came after witnessing the Sept. 11 attacks while on a visit to the United States as the mayor of Mbale. He realized that instead of using religious differences to create violence, the Muslims, Christians and Jews of Mbale could instead join together to foster religious tolerance.
Started in 2004, the cooperative is called Mirembe Kawomera, which means "delicious peace" in the Ugandan language of Luganda. Since its inception, the cooperative has seen its profits quadruple and its workforce grow from 250 to 2,000 people.
"Where I live, there are many Muslims and Christians, but Jewish people are a minority," Keki said. "I wanted people to learn that we should not use difference to bring chaos.
Because of our unity, farmers are encouraged to maintain their gardens and can pay for the education of their children."
Keki is a member of the Abayudaya tribe, a group with a unique history that includes ties to Brown. The Abayudaya are not ethnically Jewish and were founded in 1919 by Semei Kakungulu, a Ugandan statesmen who converted to Judaism after reading the Old Testament. While the Abayudaya practice the traditional Jewish dietary customs of keeping Kosher and observe Shabbat, they also practice unique biblical rituals and sing many of their prayers in African melodies.
The Abayudaya existed with little contact with the outside world for most of the 20th century, but persecution under the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin forced many to go into hiding. This isolation ended when Matt Meyer '94, a Brown student studying in Kenya, traveled to Mbale in 1992 to see the Abayudaya firsthand.
Meyer's visit inspired him to lobby organizations in the United States to support the Ugandan Jews. Meyer and his friends at the Hillel also contributed $1,000 to complete the construction of Mbale's main synagogue.
Meyer's efforts forged the connection with Kulanu, the organization behind Keki's 30-venue speaking tour that also included a stop at Providence's Temple Emanu-El, where he spoke, sang traditional songs that he had composed and sold CDs and Ugandan coffee. Keki, an accomplished musician, was nominated for a Grammy in the traditional world music category in 2005.
To Andrew Antar '12, hearing Keki's story offered a chance to learn something new.
"It was really interesting," Antar said. "It's fascinating to see how communities in Africa use religion as a rallying point for promoting sustainability, education and economic growth."
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