STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 43 Maria Cristina Potosi, mother, grandmother and 35-year veteran grower from Cauca, Colombia, quickly sold out her award-winning coffee to Groundwork Coffee in Venice, Calif. This special agenda is not often discussed, but it is con- quering spaces slowly but surely. This is the case of the recent launched BossBarista podcast that discusses problems and pos- sible solutions related to the barista's work behind the bar. Pro- duced by Jasper Wilde and Ashley Rodriguez, it "highlights the ups and downs of every barista, and gives voice to those who haven't had a platform to express themselves". Issues like sex- ism and gender equity are discussed in their audio routine. As soon as conversations started taking place in official spaces and events, issues that were invisible became visible and discussed. Solutions and alternatives start rising to encourage men and women to work together for a better coffee industry. "Ask questions,"said the founder of BD Imports, Phyllis John- son. "And if you're afraid of asking questions and having open discussions, go home and ask yourselves questions in the mir- ror. Don't be afraid to learn someone else's history. The pie gets bigger when you embrace diversity and inclusion, and you won't suffer a loss. Your life will be empowered." In Seattle SCA hosted a panel that highlighted women's struggles outside rural environments. Entitled "Intersectional- ity, Building Influence, and Changing Power Structures,"the panel was moderated by Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista) and Tracy Ging (Coffeewoman's co-founder). For most of people in the crowded audience the word 'intersectionality' was heard for the first time. Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term to explain that many social justice problems such as racism and sexism often overlap, creating multiple levels of social injustice. It is impor- tant to apply this concept when describing interpersonal rela- tions in the coffee chain. "Brown and black hands pick beans," according to John- son.. "White hands trade beans. Questions of intersectionality in coffee are global." Joining Johnson on the panel were Lawrence, Liz S. Dean (Ir- ving Farm Coffee Roasters), Jenn Chen (Freelance Coffee Mar- keter), and Meister, all of whom offered powerful insights. Considering that this debate is pretty new, strong opinions are natural. The most important thing is keeping them respect- ful and productive in order to build a better industry all the way from seed to cup. Chen pointed to solutions that will help change the power structure. She stressed the importance of putting competent and talented women in leadership positions. Bridging rural and urban women "Since years ago, when IWCA was founded, I've taken hundreds of men to origin," said Karen Cebreros, founder of the Women of Coffee Microfinance Fund. "I could see things moved slowly. I was also with Fair Trade and I saw the good it could do, but it never trickled down to the women's hands." According to Cebreros, establishing gender equity along the entire coffee chain is critical. "We should partner a consuming country with an origin country so they can drill down and make decisions on what kind of help is the most needed," she said. This holistic view can create other perspectives and make the link, a bridge between these two realities. The International Women's Coffee Alliance has an impor- tant role to unify globally all these skilled coffee professionals. For this reason, women and men will gather at the fifth IWCA Convention in Puebla City, Mexico, (Aug. 3-5, 2017) with the mission of developing programs to bring rural and ur- ban women together to create the coffee industry's best.

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