Women in remote and rural coff­ee communities face a host of challenges that keep them trapped in poverty.  Many of these isolated women live in male- dominated societies and have very little financial control or decision-making power.

In 2003, 464 women farmers in northern Peru decided to change this dynamic by separating their coffee production from the men’s. In that moment, for the first time, this group of women created their own product and income. Their coffee cooperative CECANOR joined their commercial partner Organic Products Trading Company (OPTCO) to create Café Femenino—a gender-focused program to support social justice and empowerment for women coffee producers worldwide.

Giving women farmers a voice

To participate, Café Femenino cooperatives must provide their women farmers with access to a host of political and economic benefits, including:

• Legal rights to the land on which they farm 

• Leadership positions within the cooperatives

• Financial and business decision-making power

• Direct payment for their coffee, including a Café Femenino premium

Cultivating a better future

Through participating in Café Femenino, women across the world have noted many positive cultural changes, including:

• Recognition for the work they do in the home and on the farm

• Reduction in physical, emotional, and sexual abuse

• Increase in family incomes

• Increase in men participating in childcare and domestic responsibilities

• Increase in school attendance among girls