Café Ubuntu. Not just a café, but a space filled, funded and constructed with the embodiment of Ubuntu. An idea sparked by a combination of obstacles to empower children with special needs as well as an opportunity visualized by the thousands of tourists and locals we noticed passing through Maai Mahiu town on a weekly basis. 

Ideas are great, but to crystallize ideas into reality is quite another magic. Fortunately the magic found us while I was presenting to Whole Foods Market team members at their coffee facility in Thornton, Colorado known as Allegro Coffee Company back in 2012. During the Q&A session after my talk, Tara Cross, one of the lead marketing team members at Allegro Coffee said, “Why don’t we make an Ubuntu Coffee to help raise money to build Café Ubuntu?” And just like that, the idea became a reality!

The next thing we knew Café Ubuntu Coffee, through our partnership with Allegro Coffee, was sold across all 380 Whole Foods Market stores in North America. Huge thanks to the pioneering spirit of the then President of Whole Foods Market Northern California Region, David Lannon, the sales from this coffee then led to raising enough funds to build Café Ubuntu on the Ubuntu Land aka the Ubuntu Life Campus. But the momentum didn’t stop there. The Whole Planet Foundation sent over 150 Whole Foods Market team members over the next 3 years to actually build, train and equip Café Ubuntu!

From 2012 thru 2019 Café Ubuntu served thousands of locals and tourists from all over the world creating countless memories for our visiting teams and Tribe members. Sadly in 2020 due to Covid we had to close the café. However, not wanting to let go of any of our staff and wanting to ensure that our Ubuntu team had a safe space to shop for their groceries during Covid, we transitioned Café Ubuntu into the Ubuntu Grocer over the last 3 years. When it came time to start talking about reopening the café our Ubuntu team members were excited, but didn’t want to lose their new favorite local grocery store. 

And so this Saturday, April 1st Café Ubuntu will reopen its doors, not just as a café, but as a grocery store for our Ubuntu team as well as for grab and go foods for the local community and the international community passing through on their way to the Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha and surrounding tourist attractions.

As I reflect on the origins of this small idea and how it has iterated over the years into this hospitable space that welcomes thousands of people from all over the world I am elated that Café Ubuntu lives on, especially through such a difficult period as the last 3 years.

And not only does it live on, but we have expanded its four walls into something much more special connecting to the beauty of our 11 acre campus, our expanded herb garden, playground for kiddos and outdoor pizza oven. We hope that Café Ubuntu will be felt as a holy space filled with the spirit of Ubuntu that reminds us that we are all human, all connected, all loved, all in need of one another. Please come visit us. Karibu sana!