Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/961821
40 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2018 (April / May) The book Women in Coffees (Mulheres dos Cafés) was launched in December 2017 in Portuguese and the English version will be dis- tributed in April 2018 at the Special Coffee Expo in Seattle. Learn more: www.womenincoffee.org CQI Partnership for Gender Equity (PGE) "Increasing women's participation in parity to men's participa- tion in supply chains can also lead to significant improvements in crop productivity and quality, as well as global food security and poverty reduction." Kimberly Easson, Coffee Quality Insti- tute's (CQI) Partnership for Gender Equity. How does gender inequality at origin impact coffee outcomes and the well-being of producers? CQI founded the partnership in 2014 in order to bring to light to this and other questions focused in farming reality. A task force was organized by its members and partners and the report The Way Forward: Accelerating Gender Equity in the Coffee Value Chain was published one year later. This first important step was to map and gather informa- tion for many in the coffee sector. PGE is working on com- mon "tools and methodologies to support the coffee industry's engagement and investment in gender equity across the value chain. Such tools will serve to improve the livelihoods of pro- ducers and enhance the sustainable supply of quality coffee," an official statement at the PGE website. According to the project, the goal comprises three stages: 1. start with scientific research; 2. develop strategic pilot projects and tool creation; 3. generate support throughout the industry. Considering that women are often far removed from the decision making process, the program strengthens equality and promotes adequate remuneration, and better access to land, credit, training, and leadership opportunities. Good news is that the work applied for one year in Nicaragua and its positive re- sults inspired PGE expand its methodology to Myanmar, Ethio- pia, South America, and Asia this year. Learn more: www.genderincoffee.org AMUCC - Colombia Located in the Cauca Department in Colombia, the Women Coffee Association in Cauca (AMUCC) is an organization 100% composed of women coffee growers. They own their land, con- trol the entire coffee producing process and with the proceeds from that business are supporting their families and integrating their husbands into the farm practice. Learn more: www.caficauca.com/en/program/85 Café Feminino Foundantion Founded in December 2004, this non-profit organization was named in honor of 464 courageous Peruvian women who made a decision to try to improve their own lives with their work in coffee production. It helps the integration of women coffee farmer "into social, political and occupational organizations by providing grants that help support the women's efforts and en- hance their status within the community", official statement at the Foundation's website. Learn more: coffeecan.org