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We first learned about Candida Gomez by watching a video of her on her farm “Finca Candida”. Candida, in the film, was digging up coca plants and planting coffee trees. A couple of days later, we had the opportunity to meet with this small and captivating coffee producer. We learned that the people in the region of Popayan are faced with a myriad of problems. Like the rest of the 25 million small coffee farmers from around the world, they live in poverty. Though growing coca is not a choice any of them want to make, it becomes a matter of survival. Candida's farm and all of the producers' farms in the Cosurca Cooperative are located in the most dangerous region of Colombia. In this region, the FARC guerillas roam through the communities, bringing violence, bloodshed, and murder. The sad fact is that 30 percent of the producers are now women alone, their husbands having been murdered due to the violence and drug trafficking in the region. Candida did not want to grow coca on her farm; she is smiling now because with Café Femenino, she no longer needs to grow coca. Her coffee plants may not produce as much income for her, but Café Femenino gives her and all the women producers a life of dignity without fear of being arrested by the police. Café Femenino is also providing hope of a better future to these women. They are very proud to be the first women in Colombia to grow Café Femenino. On our recent visit to Colombia in November and December 2006, we were able to hold the first meetings of the women involved in the Café Femenino coffee project. It was an exciting time for all of us. For the women, it was not only the first meeting of the producers, it was the very first “women only” meeting they had ever attended in their lives. In the Café Femenino program in Colombia, there are 139 women who are currently involved. I shared with these women how Café Femenino, for me, was a work of my heart and of my commitment to the success of Café Femenino Colombia. They shared with me all of the things that they have never been able to tell anyone because as women without rights, their voices are never heard. They shared with me that this was also the first time that anyone had ever given an ear to their voices. I felt stunned and humbled. What these women wanted us to know was the same story that we continue to hear everywhere we travel. They wanted us to know that they never see a penny of the income that they earn. They shared with us that many of their husbands are not so nice, and they are hurt by them. Most of all, they wanted us to know how hard they work, from early morning to late at night, and their myriad of responsibilities. The told us they worked longer hours than their husbands, but even with all of their hard work and efforts, they never receive any respect. We know this is true. We see it everywhere. Our hearts go out to these women, and we know that Café Femenino can bring them their greatest wish – self dignity and respect. 2006 was the first year of the Café Femenino program for Colombia. We talked about creating an organization of women under their cooperative structure, and electing officers that will represent their rights to the cooperatives' board of directors. We talked about how we would work towards providing on-going capacity training for them and as an organization, how they could begin to look at ways to develop alternative incomes through the help and support of the Café Femenino Foundation. With a plan in place for the future, the representatives of Cosurca gave their support to our plan. Though some of the men outside the doors of our meeting seemed a little unhappy having to wait for their wives, they did wait, as hope and dreams begin to take shape. Two representatives from CORDAID, a large non-profit organization located in the Netherlands, traveled with us to these communities. CORDAID is helping to support the Café Femenino Projects through pre-finance funds made available through our company to the producers, so they can leave the traditional exploitative systems of coffee buying and selling. Additionally, CORDAID supplied grant funds for the development of capacity-building programs for the women producers. We also discussed about the required funds needed in order to implement these programs for the women in Colombia. Candida Gomez, like all the women producers of Café Femenino in Colombia, is very excited and happy about Café Femenino and the opportunities and income that the program is providing to them. Our meetings together were just the beginning of building those dreams. When we all left, we knew, on that day, the future was changing. We made our commitment to each other to give our all to produce the very best coffee and to become women who have earned the right to dignity and respect. Written by Gay Smith |