Today is International Women’s Day and we celebrate the women who grow and produce our coffee and our baristas who serve it. They fuel our mission to support their families, clinics, schools and communities.
The stories of women farmers are compelling and hopeful. For political, social, infrastructure or regional conflict, women in some of the world’s coffee growing regions find themselves marginalized and forgotten.
One story feeds our souls. In Rwanda, following the genocide in the 90’s, the country dedicated resources to grow the specialty coffee industry by providing grants and identifying women who found themselves newly leading households.
Rural Rwanda benefitted from these initiatives and one of our favorites examples is a producer from the Northern Province called Kinini Village. Kinini means, “this big thing right here” and is owned by Jackie Turner and her partner, Malcolm. Before investing in coffee, they worked as a non-profit supporting schools, pharmacies, and micro-financing institutions.
Jackie grew up in the hills north of Kigali near her mill. Today, Kinini Village unites hundreds of smallholder farmers across the hills north of Kigali, 85% of them women, under a system that combines technical training, infrastructure, and reinvestment of premiums into education, healthcare, and gender equity.
Women own up to 30% of coffee farms in the world and represent 70% of labor, yet they continue to face significant discrimination in land ownership, access to credit/financial services, inclusion in decision-making, and pay. Supporting women-owned farms worldwide provides a pathway out of poverty and hunger.
At Conscious Cup we want to do our part by proudly sourcing premium level socially and environmentally sustainable coffees assuring quality differentiation and commitment to supporting women and families. We believe community extends beyond our neighborhoods. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Roseanna Shipley