The coffee farms of Gumutindo members are located in the Mbale district of eastern Uganda on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon, Uganda's highest mountain which reaches 4,321 metres (14,200 feet) at its peak, and about 90km from the border with Kenya. Gumutindo is made up of six village co-operatives: Busamaga (422 farmers), Bumayoga (428), Buginyanya (690), Nasufwa (553), Konokoyi (745), Peace Kawomera (576) for a total of 3,034 farmer members.

The rich, fertile volcanic soil and subtropical climate are ideal for growing high quality arabica coffee. Farmers cultivate small farms, known as shambas, of 0.5 to 2 hectares (1.2 to 5 acres) at between 2,000 and 3,5001 metres above sea level. Coffee is grown on 0.2 hectares on average and is inter-cropped with staples such as cassava, beans, bananas, sweet potato and avocado grown for home consumption. Inter-cropping improves soil fertility, helps prevent soil erosion and provides shade to the coffee trees.

Because Gumutindo receives pre-finance from Fairtrade buyers it can pay farmers a first payment on delivery followed by a second payment at the end of the season. The coffee is delivered by truck in bulk to the Gumutindo central store where secondary processing is organised –grading and hand-sorting followed by milling at a local private mill to remove the parchment layer – then the green coffee is packed in 60 kg bags and stored in the warehouse ready to be trucked to the port of Mombasa in Kenya for export. Export documentation and invoicing are carried out by Union Export Services (UNEX), an export company owned by co-operative unions.

Women have had an equal voice in the Gumutindo cooperative from its beginning, and they currently make up more than half of the total membership. All the farmer members are committed to high standards of care for their coffee and for their farms. By providing ongoing training for members, and by insisting on rigorous quality control at every level, Gumutindo has restored the personal link with quality that has been lost with other cooperative attempts in Uganda.