About Us
About Our Founder
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| About the Cafe Femenino Project |
| The Beginning |
| Support |
| Festivals |
| A New Idea |
| Community |
| Farming |
| Objectives |
| Our Commitment |
| Today |
| Hope |
Gay Smith's passion for and work in the coffee industry began in 1987, when her background in finance, sales and marketing lead to a sales management position at Coffee Bean International. In 1990, she left the corporate world to start a venture with her husband, Garth. Together, they founded Organic Products Trading Co. (OPTCO) to develop and import high quality certified organic and fair trade coffee.
Since the inception of OPTCO, Gay and Garth have traveled to coffee growing communities all over the world to work with growers who are committed to organic and organic fair trade coffee production. Over the years, the knowledge and insight gained through working side-by-side with coffee producers have enabled Gay to become a well -regarded authority figure on issues related to fair trade coffee market.
In 2004, OPTCO, along with several other organizations, founded Café Femenino® Coffee Project, a social program for women coffee growers in rural communities around the world. Today, OPTCO is the exclusive importer of the Café Femenino Coffee with Gay serving as a lead spokesperson and advocate for the project.
Gay is a frequent guest speaker on human rights and equality issues related to the fair trade coffee industry, and has presented at several conferences including the Regional Encounter of the Women's Coffee Growers in Peru and the Global Summit of Women in Cairo, Egypt.
She is an active member of the International Women in Coffee Alliance (IWCA) and is a former board member of Women in Action Foundation. She also spends her time as the founder and board member of The Café Femenino Foundation, which was formed to provide grants to select programs and projects around the world that enhance the lives of women and their families.