A study performed by the International Trade Forum surveyed coffee farms from 15 different countries and found that while women typically make up 70% of the fieldwork and harvesting of coffee, they only own 15% of produced coffee. In light of these statistics, Behmor has teamed up with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) to empower these female coffee producers by donating $32,000 worth of equipment to help them learn more about quality control.
That donation comes in the form of 42 Behmor 1600 Plus Roasters and 21 Behmor Brazen Plus Coffeemakers to be divided evenly amongst the 21 participating IWCA chapters across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. From a Behmor press release:
Many coffee farmers have never even tasted the coffee they labour all day to produce. But this isn’t just a sign of the power imbalance in the coffee supply chain: it’s also a barrier to improving coffee quality and so receiving greater prices. Without tasting the coffee they are growing, farmers cannot evaluate coffee quality, put feedback from buyers into context, and run experiments with the aims of achieving price premiums.
This most recent donation comes as part of the Behmor Inspired initiative, which has donated $160,000 worth of equipment to coffee associations and cooperatives in producing countries.
There’s a long way to go to reaching gender equality at the farm level. And 63 machines isn’t exactly going to bridge that gap. But it’s a start. It’s a step in the right direction. It’s not going to happen overnight but these donations not only help the affected farmers but it continues to keep a light shining on an issue that needs as much attention as it can get.
Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
*top image via Behmor
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