The struggle is real. The time for action is now. If it’s within your power, do more. Don’t know where to start or what more you can do? Here are four ideas to help you get started:
1. Demand Transparency. You pay top dollar for coffee. Are those premium prices reaching women farmers? If not, consider buying directly from a group of women producers—or from a cooperative that offers lots grown exclusively by women farmers. Two great examples are Rwanda Nyampinga and Guatemala Cafe de Mujeres Santo Domingo, both of which currently have coffees available on our spot offerings.
2. Forge Deeper Relationships. Long-term business relationships are an essential component of sustainable supply chains. Producers and roasters who partner year after year support the growth of each other's businesses and the prosperity of each other's communities, creating a powerful narrative of commitment that inspires the end consumer.
3. Fund an Origin Project. Collaborate with producer partners to help improve gender equity in the coffeelands. Through Sustainable Growers, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that we co-founded with Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2013, our customers can deploy resources to invest in high-impact projects. Sustainable Growers currently runs the world’s largest gender equity program in coffee.
4. Join the Partnership for Gender Equity. They are building an industry-wide movement for greater gender equity in coffee farming communities around the world. Hungry to learn more? Check out their issue briefs and research papers for rich, easy to digest insights that can help us all have a smarter conversation and take more meaningful action.
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