Gaviña mother-daughter team, Leonor Gaviña-Valls and Anna Valls, attended the Women in Coffee Convention last October in Bogotá, Colombia. Hosted by the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) in coordination with the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, the convention welcomed more than 400 attendees from 30 countries. The focus of the convention is to empower women in coffee and promote a sustainable future in coffee by gaining the support of the local and departmental coffee growers committees, cooperatives, and other entities in the coffee supply chain.
While in Colombia, Leonor and Anna visited farms in the area of Medellín where Gaviña sources coffee, and joined a tour sponsored by the Colombian Coffee Federation. The tour included a meeting of women small-holder farmers, and a visit to a teaching farm where Leonor and Anna learned farm management and coffee preparation. On the tour were women from every link of the coffee chain including women farmers from Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, a UN representative from Kenya, baristas from Mexico and allied product suppliers from the US.
ABOUT IWCA–EMPOWERING AND INVOLVING WOMEN IN COFFEE
Founded in 2003, the IWCA is a global network of women in coffee representing a variety of roles within the supply chain and industry. Its primary role is to empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives. As an active member of the IWCA, Gaviña Gourmet Coffee – through Leonor Gaviña-Valls’ involvement – has been active and committed to sharing our expertise, experience and insights about coffee to the alliance, especially among female small-holder coffee farmers.
