Uhuru Wholefoods

Uhuru was established in 1974 as a small cafe selling cheap vegetarian food and crafts from Tanzania. The name "Uhuru", which means "freedom" in Swahili, was chosen because several African countries were gaining their independence at the time. As well as selling crafts, Uhuru started an early fairtrade movement with a campaign entitled The World in Your Coffee Cup. The campaign aimed to make people aware of where their coffee came from and was accompanied by the launch of Campaign Coffee - an instant coffee imported directly from producers in Tanzania. Nearer to home, Uhuru was involved in various social issues, including establishing the East Oxford Community Centre, charities for the homeless and, in later years, women's aid.

In 1975 Uhuru acquired the property at 48 Cowley Road and converted it to a shop selling wholefoods, where it remains to this day. The cafe continued and also became a resource centre housing voluntary groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Rape Crisis and the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (Oxford Vegetarians also held several meetings at the cafe during this period). The recession of the late 1980s saw the closure of the cafe and all efforts were directed into keeping the shop open. Most of the voluntary groups found alternative premises as Uhuru struggled to survive.

Since Uhuru was founded the nature of food retailing has undergone enormous change. Supermarkets have become ruthlessly competitive and many small shops have disappeared as people have changed their shopping habits. In this difficult climate we hope to maintain a niche where we are appreciated as a shop with a conscience which sells only high quality vegetarian foods and does what it can to support local voluntary groups.

Annette Mngxitama, January 2002

[ OxVeg Front Page | Index of Articles ]

Oxford Vegetarians Web site is hosted by the International Vegetarian Union.

This page updated 13 November 2002 by Paul Appleby.