Things are changing in the world of coffee. Long a male preserve, women all over the world are now establishing themselves as purveyors of roasted coffee beans and coffee by the cup.
Fairtrade coffee has been established and available for some time. Fairtrade is an organisation devoted to working with farmers, farmer’s cooperatives, businesses and governments to set social, economic and environmental standards, in this case coffee.
For individual growers and producers of coffee beans in poorer parts of the world the Fairtrade organisation ensures they are paid at least a minimum price for their produce with the bonus of a Fairtrade premium.
Fairtrade also specifically supports the role of women in their work in coffee production. At present 350, 000 women farmers are connected to Fairtrade, not all, however, in the production of coffee beans. One example they give is that of Teresa Riviera Palacios from Nicaragua who is the president of the co-operative Dantanli Los Robos and farms coffee beans with the help of Fairtrade. Fairtrade has provided a range of services for her and the other co-operative members to strengthen their position in the marketplace.
Another long-established organisation helping create parity for coffee producers in the marketplace is Equal Exchange UK (www.equalexchange.co.uk).
They have developed an alternative trade model that relies on direct trade between producer and sales outlets with long-term contracts that are set at higher than market prices. One example that can be found in the shops is Equal Exchange’s ‘ORGANIC. GROWN BY WOMEN BLEND’ the beans which originate from women’s farms in Nicaragua, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo. On the packet, it says it is fairly traded and worker-owned with a message: ‘All too often the role women play in the production of coffee is unpaid and unacknowledged. This blend is a testament to them and recognises their expertise in this field.’
On a much smaller scale, there are new and interesting developments concerning coffee importers, roasters and coffee shops which are solely operated by women. One such is the coffee bean importer and roaster company named ‘Girls Who Grind Coffee’. This is an all-female speciality roastery, based just outside Upton Scudamore in Dorset, UK. They say that women are underrepresented and undervalued throughout the coffee industry, and to support women they source 100% of their coffee from women producers with a focus on visibility and representation.
Girls Who Grind Coffee was set up by Fi O’Brien and Casey Lalonde whose respective marketing and production skills blended perfectly into making an enviable range of coffees. They not only see themselves as female entrepreneurs but also revolutionaries in what they describe as ‘a community of rebels making positive changes in other areas that the patriarchy would love to see us shut out of.’ Their cry is to seek out fellow anarchists who do their own thing and dismantle misogyny along the way. They also have a tagline ‘We are here to do two things. Create insanely tasty coffee and represent women. And have fun. That’s three things. Deal with it.’
You can visit their website here: Girls Who Grind Coffee
by Ian Smith
April 2024
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