Kattia with her mentor, Grace Mena

Kattia on her coffee farm

Inspiration comes to us in many ways and forms, but as humans sometimes we find it difficult to perceive and apply it in our lives.

I was born in a very traditional and patriarchal coffee-growing family. I am the youngest of thirteen brothers and sisters, and this meant a very difficult environment to cope with because I was born a girl and I wanted a different future: I wanted something different from the education my family wanted me to choose and my dream was to eventually work in my own business and enjoy my independence.  

With the support of my mother, my biggest inspiration…now my angel in heaven, and against my father and older brothers’ will, I decided to continue with my studies and achieve a college education. With this I would look forward to help my family and, in general, the sector I grew up in and love so dearly: the coffee industry.

I can personally say that inspiration has been with me since I was little. Hardship and setbacks have been inspirational in my life; they have motivated me to fight and seek my goals and dreams.  Just like the phrase says: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Furthermore, there are people who have been the light in my path and they have enlightened me to understand and see how wonderful life is.  They did not let me stay down from a fall for situations or by people who only created obstacles to stop me from following my dreams.

One of my inspirations has been Mrs. Grace Mena, a woman who managed to get an important position in the Costa Rican coffee industry, driven mostly by men. She achieved success and respect in a male-dominated environment and never hesitated to do what she wanted and fight for her dreams.  All this made me see that if you have the drive and certainty on what you want to do and what you want to be, you should strive to get it, and even if you bump into people who want to shatter your dreams and ruin your decisions, we must not forget that God is the only one who can open and close doors for us, so we must never stop believing and fight for our dreams.

Inspiration, love, and self-respect have made me realize that whining and complaining about problems does not solve anything. What counts is not being concerned of setbacks, but dealing with them and moving on.

To conclude, I can say that for me, inspiration is like preparing a recipe: you need different ingredients to make your favorite dessert. In my case, some of my ingredients have been bitter, some sweeter and full of the motivation that ultimately allows me to enjoy this dessert with a unique sweetness in total satisfaction. It is up to us to keep enjoying these desserts.  It is up to us to keep inspiring ourselves with what life gives us to build our dreams with the grace of God.

Madame Isabelle Sinamenye, President of Burundi IWCA Chapter inspiring women in the world of coffee

When I started working in the Burundi coffee sector - precisely at Intercafe - Burundi in October 2010 - I met my former teacher: Madame Isabelle Sinamenye, President of Burundi IWCA Chapter and who is now working in the coffee sector as the chief of its laboratory. Madame Sinamenye told me how the involvement of women in certain unit operations, such as the coffee value chain, is known to be large.

Nevertheless, outside of the farm or the sorting rooms, the roles women occupy in the decision-making process are few and far between: 95% of the Burundian population is living in rural areas and depending up on agriculture - 60% of them are women. More than 80% of the Burundi country’s export revenue is coffee.
Since then, I became very touched and inspired to know more of the issues of women in the coffee sector of Burundi and I decided to adhere to the IWCA BURUNDI chapter as a member.

Burundian women have such a small voice in the decision making process because social-cultural circumstances have placed most Burundian women traditionally as having a role of being reproductive as opposed to being productive. Their roles have been culturally established as being subservient to men, and consequently, they are underestimated by men.

But Burundian women can be supported and encouraged to take up leadership positions in the coffee chain value by providing their owner washing stations so that they can follow the entire coffee chain value procedures: from farm or hand sorting room levels to marketing level of their coffee. By encouraging them and increasing their self-esteem, perhaps they can put aside their fears in taking larger roles that have been culturally offered to men.

How can this be done? By building and achieving capabilities for women in male dominated professionals. Extending/ multiplying training programs that favor/tailor for women in coffee and accommodate them is also another important way of giving women more self-confidence in their abilities. And of course, we need to support women in the coffee sector to attend forums/conferences/meetings where coffee issues are discussed and giving them opportunities to network and share experiences.

As for me, I do my best to encourage Burundian women by promoting their participation in the coffee industry as well as by sharing with them my personal experiences as well as other women who are making a difference in the world of coffee. Participating in the IWCA, I am able to help Burundian women promote their participation in the coffee industry since they are indeed a vital role in the coffee value chain.

Roopa, with grace and gratitude

She enjoyed a life of luxury and comfort, living in the big city of Bangalore, a fashionable home-maker, free to pursue her interest in art and creativity. Roopa’s husband was an engineer; though his family owned a 100-acre coffee plantation, he chose a city career and life. But 15 years ago, on an entreaty by her father-in-law, Roopa gave up all the glitter and glamour. In its place, she adopted the hard life of a coffee farmer. Her father-in-law felt she had it in her, and Roopa, encouraged by him, went on to live in Hebbasale in Sakleshpur district, shedding her life of comfort forever.
     
It began with her going to the fields for the first time; only then did she understand the labour that the humble bean required. It rained often, sometimes for the whole day, but Roopa continued to work relentlessly. Tending to the crop, feeling the earth and working alongside the workers gave her a new purpose. Over a period of time, Roopa became one of them. She was confident that nature would guide her. She rarely asked questions. Instead, she chose Nature as her teacher and learnt through observation. Her co-workers drew joy and inspiration from her working with them. Their children’s eyes would light up when they saw her. But that’s about the only “light” that was a constant. Even today, electricity is scarce on Roopa’s farm. Often, when the transformer blows out, there are days when she lives in the dark. She is unable to connect with her son and daughter in Australia, (the mobile cannot be charged for days!). After all, if it does not rain, that’s worse for the crop, she says with equanimity. During such periods, she thinks of the time when the British must have begun coffee cultivation in India; as pioneers, they endured the poor sanitation, mosquitos and weather, and still soldiered on!

Being a woman coffee planter has an advantage. As a woman, she has created a sense of family and belonging among the crew. They know she stays on the farm out of a bond that exists between them and her. She has supported their education and marriages, and driven to the local hospital on countless occasions for care of snakebites, dog bites, broken bones, and ensured that more severe health conditions are treated in city hospitals. The small contribution that she makes for the welfare of her community is her reward.

Roopa braves on through innumerable challenges. Mechanization is not possible on the land; it would endanger the flora and fauna of the rich rainforest. Skilled labour is becoming scarce and new labour is only raw talent. She would very much like the government to contribute – both towards skills development as well as the social and physical security of the workers. She looks forward to branding her coffee and selling it in Australia soon.

From a comfortable city girl, the daughter of a politician, an indulged wife, Roopa’s transition to a hands-on planter is indeed an inspiration to women around the world!

Irene with classmates

Handicapped athletes fighting against the turning tides

Daily Life with a constant desire to expand

What is it that they call inspiration? To whom does it belong? The dictionary describes it, as the entry of air into the lungs, but actually it is what takes my breath away and makes me shed tears of joy. It’s an invitation to dream of “what if”.

Just thinking about it brings me back in time; to the first time I spoke in public. I had prepared a speech for my student’s election campaign. When I took the microphone, I took a deep breath and spoke from the bottom of my heart. From that moment on, I chose to do so for all other occasions. The result was that I won the student election. I believed in myself and that was enough to inspire confidence and trust in the work that I really wanted to achieve.

What did I learn from that experience? That inspiration is the key that brings us out of that comfort zone, unrelated to the source, which may be from something ordinary to something as internal and unique as me. Inspiration is the "force" that pushes us towards our journey, allowing us to overcome difficult times. I dare to call it, the medicine that helps cure laziness, the “I can’t” or “it’s not possible” and “what would the others say?” that always holds us back.

Today, people who want to be better every day for themselves and for others, nourish my inspiration. Many examples are WOMEN who get ahead in their jobs, in their cities and even in the world after constantly hearing that we are "the weaker sex": they are athletes, under unimaginable conditions that achieve big goals and become national heroes. The handicapped, fighting against the turning tides, and I cannot forget the writers of life, whose magic words invite me to read and allow me to dream of my hopes, with a future that is mine and teaches me to fight for what I most desire.

My inspiration then is different from the description of the dictionary, because I define it as “Daily Life with a constant desire to expand”. It’s the part of me that I share in every relationship and not the part that I expect back, because to be inspired, I must be positive, I must know what I want from me and what I choose to give of me.

Raquel (left) with her mentor Josiane Cotrim (center)

Raquel - a strong woman with passion

Women in the world of coffee making a difference

Diversity. This is my inspiration to join this project. In the area where I work professionally – in administration - the relevance of this topic in organizational space led to the creation of the term "diversity management", such is the importance of achieving an environment where people can live harmoniously and productively, with others from different cultures, nationalities, races, genders, sexual orientations, etc.

Diversity has been one of the most achieved goals in companies that seek to recognize and enhance the competitive advantage through people. In practice, effective actions that promote diversity have been encouraged for several reasons.

In the case of multinational organizations, for example, the coexistence between people of different countries is a clear need, and therefore efforts are targeted to expatriates and locals take the best advantage of its multicultural experience for both.

However, with the diversity of gender, this "need" is not so clear, since men and women cannot always occupy the organizational space "as equals". Although women have gained rights and opportunities in the aspect of the public life in many countries and sectors, this reality does not correspond to effective gender equity - in other words, diversity by means of the difference, with equal opportunities for all.

When I started researching on the topic of women in business, I faced representations of masculine women, reinforcing gender stereotypes rooted in the social imaginary. Acting in business management and preserving femininities still seems to be a difficult barrier to be overcome, particularly in some sectors such as agribusiness. Referring to femininities in the plural means recognizing that each woman is unique and creates her own way, her different way of being and expressing herself as a woman. This is the real wealth of diversity: that every woman can choose to be herself, creating and recreating the countless possibilities of the feminine in organizations.

In a global project for the coffee chain such as the "Quiet Revolution", diversity means acknowledging that women in each country - producer or consumer - have their own gender history and symbols. By sharing our stories and experiences, we can build an environment more prosperous for the role of women in this sector.

As the flowers of each variety of coffee beans that produce different types of drink, each of us brings our own contribution to diversify and enrich the debate on greater participation of women in coffee. Creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainability and even more collaborative organizations in business involving coffee: these are the fruits that diversity can bequeath us.