Women Who Inspire Inclusion | Women Caficultora Network Project
At De La Gente, we work with many women who inspire inclusion on a daily basis working as coffee producers, mothers, wives, and sometimes, as heads of households. In a perfect world, having a career in coffee or any other job would be perfectly normal, but in the case of the members of the Women Caficultora Network Project by De La Gente, that’s not the case.
Women Caficultora Network Project
The Women Caficultora Network Project began in 2023 as an initiative of De La Gente due to the generational problems that have existed due to the lack of inclusivity in the coffee industry in Guatemala, directly affecting the creation of opportunities for women. The industry is dominated by men, which makes the role of women in the value chain invisible in most cases. This is a major obstacle to increasing women's participation in coffee production. On the other hand, the consumer is now more interested in seeing more participation of women in the industry. This has led to a harmful dynamic of using the image of women as a marketing strategy without authentically giving voice and power to the women behind that image.
By creating the Caficultora (feminine form of the Spanish word "caficultor" which means coffee grower) Network, we seek to enhance the role of women, going beyond producing coffee, ensuring that they have a voice in the negotiations of their products and that they have the capacity to undertake a career related to coffee. We provide technical, social, and environmental support, as well as access to more and better economic opportunities in the coffee sector.
Currently, this new group of women is made up of six participants from the coffee-growing region of Antigua. Each one has different capabilities and knowledge about coffee cultivation and production. In 2024, with great enthusiasm, it will be their first year exporting specialty coffee as a group with a total of 3,000 pounds.
The Women Who Inspire Inclusion
When we asked the members of the group- How does it feel being part of an all-women's coffee producers group? They said:
“It's motivating because it's something new to us that we can do as women. We're not discriminated, and people pay attention to us"
- Rosa López
“I agree that it motivates us as women. We’ve not always had this help, we’ve been told that only men can do it, and the woman always has to stay back [...] Now we have the opportunity to stand out as women, give value to our work, and propel other women to also stand out.”
- Marta Salazar
“To us, it's a work opportunity that propels us to move forward, and what helps us propel our kids forward too, because it's not only about us.”
- Virgilia López
“I feel a little nervous because it's my first time being part of a group like this, I've got to work hard!”
- Josefa López
“It's also something new for me, but I have to work hard to learn new things and do a good job.”
- Esperanza González
“Years ago, when I gave birth to my firstborn, I realized that I needed to dedicate more time to him, that’s when I began to fully work with coffee. I’m excited to be a part of this group now”
- Carmen Salazar
With the Women Caficultora Network, we seek to uplift the skills and knowledge of each member of the group. In this first cohort, Virgilia López will share her knowledge and train the other members of the group on coffee production.
Virgilia has been surrounded by coffee her entire life. When she was younger, she worked with her father harvesting coffee in big coffee farms. In 2007, she joined a group of coffee producers where she learned about coffee processing and saw the benefits from selling green coffee beans. Now, she will have the opportunity to pass on her knowledge to other women.
Support the Caficultora Network by making a donation. We will use your gift to provide training to the women involved in this program. Help us give more women the opportunity to thrive in the Coffee Industry!
As we look to the horizon, we seek to grow the Caficultora Network and expand the impact with more women in Guatemala. So this first cohort will train the second generation of female coffee growers and become women who inspire inclusion in the industry. At De La Gente, we invite all our extended family to contribute to this program and help us make the industry more equitable for everyone involved.
If you want to know more about this new group and want to get involved, email us at danilo@dlgcoffee.org, or if you are interested green coffee samples, leave your details below.