As part of the celebration of International Women’s Day, Kaffe Bueno founders talk about their commitment to gender equality in the coffee world.
In the coffee industry, women remain socially as well as economically disadvantaged. Thus, Kaffe Bueno is partnering with ALMUCAFE – member of the International Women Coffee Alliance (IWCA). The objective of this partnership is to support and empower female coffee farmers by contributing to the improvement of organic cultural practices, and enhancing their representation across the coffee industry.
“We wanted to advocate for women farmers, and saw the potential to create a bridge between two worlds. This means that the consumers in Denmark help us ensure the empowerment and livelihood of women farmers in Colombia’s coffee scene,” states Alejandro Franco, Kaffe Bueno co-founder.
Currently, over 950 Colombian women from the three regions Huila Tolima, and Cauca have joined ALMUCAFE.
This is Yiver Vargas. She grows, takes care and harvest our Kaffe de Yiver using sustainable organic practices. She plays a major role in gender equality initiatives in Colombia’s coffee scene through ALMUCAFE and IWCA.
In a male dominated industry, the founders of Kaffe Bueno highlight the importance of their partnership with ALMUCAFE in achieving socioeconomic empowerment for women in the Colombian coffee industry:
“It is an amazing opportunity to create an impact for women, that leads to a sustainable development and contributes to the recognition of the participation of the marginalised gender in the coffee sector”, says Camilo Fernandez, Kaffe Bueno co-founder.
(Picture missing) Worldwide, there are approximately 25 million coffee farmers in over 70 producing countries. Currently, women tend to work on agricultural tasks including fieldwork, harvesting and processing and are usually not engaged in the coffee trade. Meaning that men are more likely to be involved in decision making while women are limited to less influential roles. These gender roles lead to a lack of economic as well as social power for women.
“It is in a close collaboration with these strong women that we want to address the persistent gender-based barriers in a country that is the third largest coffee grower in the world,” states Juan Pablo Medina, Kaffe Bueno co-founder.
Also read: Kaffe Bueno – Bueno for You, Good for All.
Yiver Vargas on the additional challenges the women faces earning a living in coffee:
“Besides everyday struggles women farmers also have to deal with gender inequality counting prejudices about women’s agricultural knowledge and a lower salary than men. With a specialty coffee like Kaffe Bueno, we have an opportunity to close the gender gap and advocate for a more balanced society in which women are able to achieve their full potential,“ argues Yiver Vargas, founder of ALMUCAFE.
Support our women coffee growers in Colombia by buying your Kaffe de Yiver here. Remember to use coupon code: KBWOMENMONTH