Women Seize Opportunities in Specialty Coffee Market

Coffee has long played a central role in the economy and culture of Colombia, the producer of the world’s highest-quality Arabica beans. Despite its well-established traditions of coffee cultivation, however, the country is not immune to change. Today, myriad global, national and local factors are influencing the way coffee growers in Colombia participate in the industry. Globally, today’s coffee industry is facing challenges to meet new standards and demands for social and environmental responsibility. Nationally, domestic sociopolitical disturbances such as guerrilla activity, violent displacement of communities, male migration to urban settings, and a lack of job opportunities have increased women’s involvement in coffee production.

These factors present new challenges and opportunities for Colombian coffee production and sales. There are new markets that are interested in buying coffee produced by women, as well as social incentives to encourage the participation of women growers in the coffee industry. Through the USAID-funded Specialty Coffee Program, ACDI/VOCA has helped increase the participation of women in coffee. In different regional coffee growers’ associations, women have become more involved and are participating actively in coffee quality workshops and trainings, which has led them to achieve greater visibility and recognition as coffee growers.

AMUCC, the Association of Women Coffee Growers of Cauca, was formed in 2002 to meet the growing demand of the European market. The association was formed at the behest of a medium-sized roaster from Spain and the local cooperative CAFICAUCA, which wanted to develop a line of coffee produced by women. Currently, AMUCC has 344 members and has new projects and future possibilities. As a result of AMUCC’s relationship with ACDI/VOCA’s Coffee Alliances for the Expansion of Specialty Coffees (CAFES), the president of the association, Elizabeth Trujillo, was invited to participate in the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) 2008 Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis. Her attendance at this conference was an important opportunity to establish commercial relationships with potential buyers and with producers from all around the world, including other women coffee growers.

For Trujillo this experience represented a next step for the association. She took advantage of the conference as a place where she could promote contacts and create an important network for future projects. Attending the conference was a great learning process and she will go back to her community and share her knowledge.

Trujillo proudly says, ”Nowadays I am more than just a housewife, I am also a coffee producer, member and president of AMUCC and a coffee marketer.”

As a leader of AMUCC and a participant in the SCAA conference, Trujillo is contributing to a new paradigm for Colombian women and their communities: coffee offers them a chance to build a positive future and heal the disruptions caused by internal conflict.