Origin Adventure - Uganda 2024

Adventure Overview

On this extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experience, you will join our team and venture deep into the heart of Uganda. Here, you will walk alongside the cacao and coffee farmers from whom we source from and engage in Direct Trade practices. You'll not only gain invaluable insights into the lives of these farmers, but you'll also actively participate in the harvesting and processing of beans, all while deepening your understanding of ethical sourcing.

Throughout the trip, you’ll witness breathtaking wildlife gracing the Ugandan landscape, with the possibility of encountering lions, hippos, and elephants. This adventure offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Ugandan culture and join in traditional singing and dancing, learn the art of basket weaving, and experience the intricate process of coffee roasting, among many other cultural activities. We'll end the trip with some white-water rafting on the Nile River, and pay a visit to our cacao sourcing partner's chocolate factory where we'll taste chocolate and shop at local markets.

Highlights

Cacao Harvesting and Farm Tour
Coffee Tasting and Farm Tour
Chimp Tracking in Kabale Forest
Safari in the Plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park
Boat Safari on the Kazinga Channel
White Water Rafting on the Nile River
Chocolate Tour and Shopping in Kampala City

Itinerary

Every day in Uganda will bring exciting new adventures. From harvesting cacao and coffee alongside farmers, to white-water rafting on the Nile River, we plan to do it all on this trip. Prepare for you and your family to be blown away by the animals we'll see and the cultural experiences we'll have in Uganda.

Day 1: Arrive at Entebbe International Airport

Arrive at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Transfer to boutique guesthouse and check in the for evening.

‍Accommodations: Entebbe Guesthouse

Day 2: Journey to Kibale National Park

Breakfast, group orientation, and Ugandan chocolate tasting at the guesthouse. Hit the road and enjoy the scenic drive to Fort Portal where we'll have lunch and continue to Kibale. Check-in and relax at our lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Kibale Forest Lodge

Day 3: Chimp Tracking at Kibale Forest National Park

Start the day with a Ugandan coffee tasting. Journey to Kabale Forest National Park for a chimp tracking expedition where there are over 1500 chimpanzees. Kibale Forest contains 13 species of primates, with the highest concentration in all of Africa. Return to lodge.

‍Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Kibale Forest Lodge

Day 4: Cultural Walk Through Bigodi Community

Cultural walk through Bigodi Community. Meet "Banana Man" who makes various banana drinks, a village of basket-weavers who sing and dance, and watch as farmers process and roast coffee. Experience a local lunch then head to the lodge for some rest and relaxation.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Kibale Forest Lodge

Day 5: Hands-On Cacao Farming Experience

Drive to Kasese in the morning to go and meet our farming partners, Latitude Trade Company. Harvest cacao pods with farmers and split them open to scoop out the beans to take to the cacao collection points. Enjoy getting to know the farmers and taste chocolate with them, made with beans that they grew. Go on an optional safari before heading back to the lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Safari Lodge

Day 6: Coffee & Vanilla Farms, and Kazinga Channel Boat Safari

In the morning, head to both a coffee and vanilla farm for a tour and hands-on experience. In the afternoon, go on a boat ride along the Kazinga Channel where we'll have the possibility of seeing an amazing array of wildlife including elephants, hippos, antelope, crocodiles, and much more. End the day with a land safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park and dinner at the lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodations: Safari Lodge

Day 7: Safari and Latitude Cacao Fermentation Center

After breakfast we'll head to the plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park for a morning game drive safari. After, we'll visit our farming partner Latitude's fermentation center in Kasese where we'll help ferment cacao beans, do a chocolate tasting, and plant cacao trees. We'll eat lunch with the Latitude team then return to the lodge for a relaxing afternoon.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Safari Lodge

Day 8: Journey to Kampala City

Drive to Kampala City and spend the evening eating delicious food, swimming in the pool, and enjoying each other's company.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Kampala City Hotel

Day 9: White-Water Rafting on the Nile

Drive to Jinja for a fun day of white-water rafting or tubing on the Nile River! After, we'll return to Kampala City to enjoy delicious food and have a relaxing evening.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

‍Accommodations: Kampala City Hotel

Day 10: Chocolate Factory Tour, Shopping, and Farwell Dinner

In the morning, head to Latitude Craft Chocolate factory for a tour and lunch. Enjoy souvenir shopping at the local markets that offer a variety of goods handmade in Uganda. Drive to Entebbe and have our farewell dinner. Participants depart from Entebbe Airport.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Direct-Trade Partners

Origin Adventures started as a way to take you to meet the farmers who grow the cacao and coffee beans we use in our products. These trips are the ultimate way to experience a transparent, direct-trade supply chain - from farmer and raw bean, all the way to finished product. At the heart of every Origin Adventure are our farming partners - they're the reason we do what we do.

We're ecstatic to introduce you to the dedicated team at Latitude Trade Company, our cacao sourcing partner. On this trip, you'll gain direct experience of a transparent supply chain, and even get to harvest and ferment cacao side by side with farmers. Latitude pays farmers significantly more than standard market rates which reflects in the quality of their cacao - quality that we'll experience first hand through the chocolate we taste made from their beans. Bukonzo Joint Coop, our Ugandan coffee sourcing partner, will give us a tour of one of the farms they collect beans from and we'll learn where coffee really comes from.

Accommodations & Food

This trip provides plenty of time to relax, swim, experience culture and enjoy local food. All participants will share lodging with immediate travel partners, or with a same-gender roommate. We'll be staying in comfortable lodgings throughout our journey.

Accommodation Styles: Boutique Lodges for 7 nights; Hotel for 2 nights. All bookings are double-occupancy minimally with families being the exception.

Meet Your Guides

You’ll be accompanied by members of the Moka Origins team, along with local hosts and experts at our destination.

Jeff Abella

Chelsea Abella

Nathan Masereka

Jeff Steinberg

Trip Add-On: Yoga and Nature Immersion with Luke Ketterhagen

February 12–15

$1200

The trip of a lifetime deserves a moment to absorb all you have experienced. Enjoy an additional four days and three nights on Lake Victoria to enhance this unique excursion. Mabamba Lodge was designed to facilitate interaction between humans and nature. Nestled in a canopy of green vegetation with a focus on privacy and isolation, the cottages are the perfect place for reflection, gratitude and celebration.

Inspired by local tradition and Uganda culture, the opulent rooms feature pristine fabrics and artistic decor. Daily yoga and meditation will focus on internalizing the magic of this land. Opportunities for sundown boat tours, bird watching, nature hikes, drumming, crafts, and cycling to the local Mabamba village for shopping will be available for a deeper cultural connection. Integrate all levels of your being – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - and make your adventure-filled trip to Africa benefit your well-being for years to come.