GENDER & EQUALITY ■ 33
C&CI
There are four major events being held women and men, and will focus on ment and implementation of this event.
this year and next where the IWCA will improving technical and management * The IWCA is supported by five March 2010
continue its efforts to advocate for disad- skills, for example, cupping, roasting, Founding Partners: America’s Food
vantaged women from ‘seed to cup,’ pro- finance, and strategic thinking. Technologies; Bunn-o-Matic Corp;
vide access to resources, and provide a "The 2011 conference will be a timely Gaviña Gourmet Coffee; Green Mountain
forum for connection. opportunity to assess the progress that Coffee Roasters Foundation; and
has been made since the 2008 event, as InterAmerican Coffee (part of Neumann
Events provide
well as helping to identify the key oppor- Kaffee Gruppe).
tunities where effort is needed," said Mrs For more information on the IWCA and
forum to discuss
Swallow, noting that the IWCA’s El how you can supports its efforts, e-mail
women’s issues
secretary@womenincoffee.org. ■ C&CI
The third ICO World Coffee Conference,
held in Guatemala City in February 2010,
was the first international forum to include a
Coffee co-op empowers women in Rwanda
session on social sustainability and the role
of women in the coffee industry. The IWCA According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), about
panel, titled ‘Promoting Possibilities,’ was 70 per cent of the world’s one billion people living on less than one Dollar a day
moderated by Her Excellency Madame are women. As this number continues to rise, women in developing countries
Josefa Sacko, Secretary-General of the remain disproportionately affected by the burden of poverty. Not only are these
InterAfrican Coffee Organization. Speakers women often paid less than men for similar work, but they are also known to
included Launtia Taylor, Ana Laura Quiros invest a higher percentage of their income back into the family in the form of
Montoya, President of the Asociacion de food, education and health.
Mujeres Organizadas de Biolley; Sunalini In the past few decades, Fair Trade has become an important and effective way
Menon of Coffeelab Private Ltd, and Karl to support the livelihoods of women in the developing world, giving them the
tools necessary to lift themselves out of poverty, obtain financial stability, and to
The IWCA grants
engage in sustainable farming practices. For coffee growers in particular, Fair
programme is a great
Trade has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of female farmers,
empowering them to invest in their farms, their communities, and in the overall
example of how a relatively small
well-being of their families.
amount of money can make a
Hinga Kawa, which means ‘coffee collector’ in the Kinyarwanda language in
significant impact in the lives of
Rwanda, is a coffee co-operative that serves as an excellent example of the bene-
fits of Fair Trade. Hinga Kawa is a self-initiated women’s association at Abakunda
women, their families, and
Kawa coffee co-operative in northern Rwanda. It was founded in 2006 by 50 of
communities Abakunda Kawa’s female members in order to discuss and solve pressing issues
in their community. The goals of the association are to promote the coffee sector,
Schmidt-President, from Probat Burns. improve the quality and quantity of their coffee, improve their socio-economic sta-
In April, the IWCA plans to hold a break- tus, establish alternative sources of income, and focus attention on women’s
fast at the SCAA conference – in fact, the issues.
2010 event will mark eight years of the The association now has 109 women members, more than a third of whom are
IWCA breakfast. This event has become widows - a testimony to Rwanda’s devastating 1994 genocide. As heads of house-
the largest networking event for women in hold and often the sole breadwinners in their families, the women of Hinga Kawa
the coffee industry. All women and men are use the money they earn from coffee to pay for the everyday needs of their loved
welcome, and details can be found at ones. The association also has a small amount of money in their savings account
www.scaa.org. that they use to grant small credits to Hinga Kawa members. These credits are
The SCAA event in April will also include ultimately used for children’s school fees, health costs and pre-harvest financing.
a session on ‘Gender and Equality: The The co-operative also receives training on financial literacy and health education.
role Women Play in the Future of the Though Hinga Kawa is a success story, it is not alone in its efforts to use Fair
Coffee Industry,’ and the session is expect- Trade certified coffee as a means of sustainable socio-economic growth, and
ed to feature data from Papua New Guinea around the world women’s associations are beginning to create their own models
and the EAFCA on the role that women of empowerment, economic stability and community development. Through Fair
play in producing countries. Trade certification, co-operatives like Hinga Kawa not only receive a fair price for
their coffee, but are using the Fair Trade premium to fund valuable social pro-
Educational
grammes such as women’s literacy, self-esteem training, and HIV/AIDS education
and health services.
conference planned
For women in coffee, Fair Trade has brought hope in the wake of genocide, civil
The second IWCA international educa- war and extreme poverty. It has given them the opportunity to achieve success in
tional conference will be held in early a global market, and to make well educated decisions when selling the coffee
2011 in El Salvador. Like the Costa Rica they work so hard to produce.
conference, this event will be open to all
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