Tag: women in coffee

Celebrating Women in Coffee

Written by Robyn-Leigh van Laren, Story Manager at Long Miles Coffee.

For decades, farming coffee has been considered as a “man’s job”. This is not just the case in Burundi, but the world over. According to the most recent data collected by the World Bank, women make up just over half of Burundi’s population. Some sources say that women make up more than half of the country’s agricultural labor force.

But, any number or statistic without context can be misleading. We could list the number of women that we work with, but what would that number mean in a greater context? It certainly wouldn’t be representative of the global coffee industry, let alone the coffee industry in Burundi. Women are without a doubt significant contributors to the coffee sector in Burundi, but are underrepresented in leadership, decision and policy-making roles.

“In the rural parts of Burundi, women are working more than men. You can often see the men, but the women are hidden from view while managing many other tasks.” – Joy Mavugo

Women in Burundi work a multitude of jobs. One could go as far to say that they have a disproportionate number of roles and responsibilities. Generally, women who are producing coffee are also managing households, raising children, growing and harvesting subsistence crops to either cook or sell at the local market. Some of these women are also taking up seasonal jobs at the coffee washing stations adjacent to their homes where they typically hand-pick coffee to make ends meet- a key but labor-intensive role that has a profound impact on coffee quality.

Not all women in agriculture feel empowered to take up the jobs that men tend to do. Even if they do feel empowered, there is no guarantee that they will be compensated at the same rate as men for their labor. Many people believe that women in coffee should be paid less because their labor is generally less intensive than men.

“Where are the women?”

When we hold meetings with our partnering coffee farmers, more men tend to gather than women. Why is that? Women are often busy with other farm work or household tasks. I would often look around at these meetings and ask, “Where are the women?” People would look up and chuckle at me, the mzungu who can’t wrap her head around the complexities of gender roles in Burundi. From what I’ve come to understand is that women aren’t always intentionally excluded but their often unaccounted for labor will mostly be laughed off because that’s how it’s always been.

Why are we doing this? It was one of the first questions that I wrote down when thinking of running a series celebrating women in coffee. When I asked my colleague Joy Mavugo this question, her response was, “You know, if we were doing a series on men in coffee, we wouldn’t stop to think about this question.”

“If we were doing a series on men in coffee, we wouldn’t stop to think about this.”

Her words stuck with me for weeks. Ironically, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, which is why we’ll be sharing and celebrating the stories of incredible women working in coffee over the next couple of weeks.

March 24, 2023
Women in Coffee: Joy Mavugo of the Long Miles Coffee Story Team

Joy joined Long Miles in 2018, and has been an invaluable member of the Story Team ever since. With a background in public health, she uses every opportunity to share what she’s learned with partner farmers while listening to, and finding ways to share their stories.

What is your earliest memory of coffee?

I grew up seeing coffee being ground in our house because it is my dad’s favorite drink, but I had no idea of where coffee came from. In primary school, I learned that in Burundi we have industrial or export crops that brings foreign currency into the country. At that time, it was cotton, tea, and coffee. Something that confused me was hearing that coffee brings foreign currency into the country, meanwhile my dad was buying it in Burundian francs. But, as I was still a child, I didn’t ask.

How and when did you get involved in the coffee industry?

When I heard about Ben and Kristy [Carlson], before meeting them, I had been told that they are in coffee business. In my mind, being in the “coffee business” was the shops where people used to meet for coffee, places like Café Gourmand in Bujumbura, and other places like that. As I mentioned, I didn’t know anything about coffee apart from seeing my dad drink it. I never thought about working in coffee.

In 2016, during coffee harvest, the Carlsons took me with to visit Bukeye Washing Station. There were two things that surprised me that first time visiting a washing station. One, was seeing so many people working there. Second, was seeing cherries. When they told me that it was coffee, the first question that came to mind was, “Are there two kinds of coffee?” This was the comparison I was making between coffee in the cup (the one I used to see my dad drink, and in the coffee shops), and coffee cherries at the selection tables.

There were a couple of reasons that pushed me to work in coffee. Coffee connects different people from different cultures, different countries, and different continents. Coffee is people. This is the reason that I was interested to learn more about coffee, and is something that I am now proud to be a part of. Of course, there are still many, many things to learn in coffee, but at least today I can help somebody to understand coffee out of the cup.

The second reason that pushed me to work in coffee is to help others with my degree in Public Health. I thought maybe there are people who need my help, especially in upcountry Burundi where many people don’t have access to information like they do in the city.

What is your role in the coffee supply chain?

I started working in coffee in 2018. My role is to listen to, collect, and share farmers’ stories. Working in coffee means a lot to me. I am working in the Story Team, and we are in communications. Together, we are helping the world understand the story of coffee: its origin, who grows it, what growing coffee looks like, what a coffee farm is like, what happens to coffee at the washing station, what the next step is after processing it at the washing station…

I don’t use my background in public health every day, but there are always opportunities to do it. I have many examples, but I’ll just share one:

I visited a coffee farmer on Gaharo Hill, and during the interview they explained the challenges farmers face, one of them being malaria. Both her husband and baby were sick with malaria at the time. While she was talking, I saw that in front of her house, there was a small farm of vegetables covered with a mosquito net. During our conversation, I asked why the mosquito net was covering the vegetables. She said that it prevented the chickens from eating the leaves. I asked her if she knows the cause of malaria, to which she replied, “It’s mangoes”. I asked her, why mangoes? “Because many people get malaria when it’s mango season”.

I took the time to explain the actual causes of malaria, that mosquitoes are prevalent during mango season because of the rains during that time of year, and how to prevent malaria. It was a really valuable discussion!

Apart from growing coffee, farmers are growing other crops that are good for their health, but don’t always eat them. Through the interviewing process, I’ve been able to help them to understand the relationship between food and health.

Are there any challenges that you think exclude women from working in coffee?

There are no challenges that exclude women from working in coffee. The problem is the lack of information, or having access to false information. For example, women farmers have repeatedly heard something that’s not true, which is that “coffee is for men”. Other women farmers know that coffee can be prepared as a drink, but don’t know that there are many other things to do in coffee. Sometimes, women in Burundi don’t have enough time to research as men do.

When you consider the coffee industry, do you think that women are empowered to be in leadership and decision-making roles?

In the coffee industry the number of women must be less than men, but those women who are there are empowered to be in leadership and decision-making roles.

Is there anything that you would like to learn or do to further your understanding of how coffee is produced or processed?

I would like to improve my photography skills, and how to share information on social media.

September 30, 2021
Women in Coffee: Aline, Assistant Manager of Coffee Quality Control

Growing up, Aline didn’t know that one day she would work in the coffee sector in Burundi. She joined the Long Miles team back in 2014 as a supervisor of the teams hand-picking parchment coffee for defects. Now, Aline is the Assistant Manager of Coffee Quality Control at Bukeye Washing Station.

What is your earliest memory of coffee?

When I heard about the Long Miles Washing Station on Gaharo hill, I decided to ask if they had a job for me. I had no idea of what happens at a coffee washing station, and didn’t know anything about processing coffee. At the time, the washing station manager told me that there were no jobs for women, that there were only jobs for men. I asked him to give me a chance working there so that he could see that I was capable of learning. After a month, he appreciated how I worked and he offered me a full-time job.

What is your role in the coffee supply chain?

When I started out, I was in charge of supervising the hand-picking team. Now, I am the Assistant Manager of Coffee Quality Control at Bukeye Washing Station.

What does a ‘’typical day’’ look like for you?

During coffee harvest, I do the same thing: control the steps that coffee goes through, especially during the hand-picking stage at the cherry selection tables.

What does working in coffee mean for you?

It’s proof that women , especially in the rural areas of Burundi, are as capable of working in coffee as men.

Are there any challenges that you think exclude women from working in coffee?

I think that the challenges for some women- not just those working in the coffee sector- is that they are working mothers. Working at night can be a big challenge. I think that this is the reason why men say that women are not able to work in coffee, but for me it’s not a question of being able but how many responsibilities a woman has to take on.

When you consider the coffee industry, do you think that women are empowered to be in leadership and decision-making roles?

In the organization that I work for, a woman has the same place as a man. Gender is respected. There are women representatives in all the teams, and they can make decisions in their roles.

Is there anyone in the coffee industry who inspires you?

I don’t know yet.

Is there anything that you would like to learn or do to further your understanding of coffee?

Working in the coffee sector has given me the opportunity of learning many things. I can even teach others what I’ve learnt. In Burundi, there is no school for teaching you about coffee, but working in coffee is a lesson in itself. You can learn as you work. I have learnt about coffee quality, from cherry to parchment, but I still need to learn more about coffee quality from parchment to cup.

September 17, 2021
Women in Coffee: Asterie, leader of the Long Miles Coffee Scouts

Asterie has been a part of the Long Miles Coffee team since 2016. She first joined as a Coffee Scout, and six years later is leading the Heza Coffee Scout team.

What is your earliest memory of coffee?

My earliest memory is the joy that I experienced when I got a job in coffee. I grew up hearing that it’s not “normal” for a woman to work in the coffee sector, and that coffee is for men.

How did you get involved in coffee?

I started working in the coffee sector in 2016. At the time, Long Miles was looking for people to join their team of Coffee Scouts. I wrote a test, and came out on top. I was a Coffee Scouts for two years, and was then promoted as a supervisor of the Coffee Scouts.

What is your role in the coffee supply chain?

My job is to plan and supervise all of the Coffee Scout’s activities that are happening on the coffee farms. I spend all of my time with the team of Coffee Scouts and partnering farmers.

What does a ‘’typical day’’ look like for you?

As a mother, the first thing that I do every day is spending time with my children and feeding them. Then I go to work, and after work I have to prepare supper and spend time with my children.

Asterie with the Heza Coffee Scouts

What does working in coffee mean to you?

To me, it means that coffee is for everyone- it’s not just limited to men.

Are there any challenges that exclude women from working in coffee?

In Burundi, men often have the interpretation that women are not able, but we are able. One challenge is that during coffee harvest the team work longer hours than off-season, which is not possible for women living upcountry. We’re still caught up in a kind of “prison culture”. A woman living outside of the city is still expected to harvest crops and prepare meals, even if her husband is around. If you’re out of your house after 7pm, you can be considered as a woman who “took the place of a man” in the house. When we work less hours than men, it doesn’t mean that we’re not able but have to continue with other activities at home.

When you consider the coffee industry, do you think that women are empowered to be in leadership and decision-making roles?

Yes. At Long Miles, women are represented but when I look around my neighborhood, women are considered as people of the kitchen or valleys (where people have to look for food). Coffee is considered to be a crop for men because it brings money, and where there is money there is a place for decision-making…and women aren’t considered able to make these kinds of decisions.

What does gender equity in coffee look like?

This is hard for me to say because I’ve never worked for anyone other than Long Miles. The only thing that I can say is that gender equality looks like women being represented in every team. If you compare the number of men and women working in coffee, men outnumber women. I think this happens because when companies are looking for workers, women are often busy with other work so they miss out on the information but the men are always there.

Is there anyone in the coffee industry who inspires you?

I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.

Is there anything that you would like to learn or do to further your understanding of coffee?

I have learned many things about how to take care of coffee farms, and I know a bit about cherry processing but I still want to learn more about processing parchment coffee.

September 10, 2021
Women in Coffee: Bernadette from Munyinya hill

Bernadette pruning the coffee trees on her family’s farm.

Bernadette is a partner coffee farmer from Munyinya hill in Burundi. She is also a member of the Kerebuka Coffee Association that encourages women involved in coffee to know their value. Her earliest memory of coffee was planting it together with husband just after they got married, to help raise their family.

What is your role in the coffee supply chain?

I am a coffee farmer.

What does a ‘’typical day’’ look like for you?

I spend my time doing farm work on our family’s land, and looking for food. I was also chosen by the government agronomists to supervise the agricultural activities happening on Munyinya hill.

Are there any challenges that exclude women from working in coffee?

From my experience, men often minimize a woman’s value. They say that we’re not able and we just accept that. We know that we are able, but the problem is that we’re scared to show our capacity. In Burundi, women have to wait for the men in our families to make the decisions. This is one of the reasons why I encourage women living on Munyinya hill to go to school. People who go to school have confidence.

An example that I can share is that some women in our association have had the courage to ask their husbands for their own coffee farms so that they can earn their own money. By doing this, they don’t have to rely on their husbands when deciding how this money should be spent. Unfortunately, some of these women still have to wait for their husbands to decide how to use their money.

What does gender equity in coffee look like?

The number of women in coffee is limited, and this needs to change for there to be gender equity in coffee.

Is there anything that you would like to learn or do to further your understanding of coffee?

No, I’m getting too old. I don’t need to learn more things.

September 9, 2021
Before + Now: Emilienne

When she was just sixteen years old, a student named Emilienne fell in love and dropped out of school, choosing marriage over her schoolbooks. In 1993, just four years later, she tragically lost her young husband to the civil war ensuing the assassination of Burundi’s first democratically elected president. Emilienne was five months pregnant with their third child at the time.

“Family is very important to me. When I lost my husband, my mother and brothers helped me with everything.”

Burundi still has ways to go when it comes to the laws underpinning a woman’s right to inheriting, controlling and owning land. She put up an incredible fight when her in-laws tried to chase Emilienne and her two young girls out of her late husband’s home. With a loan from her mother and the support of her brothers, Emilienne was able to buy a piece of land and build a bigger home for her growing family.

“My favorite thing about being a mother is that when you have children, you are not alone.”

It was years later when she would meet Salvator, a widowed coffee farmer from a neighboring hill. Despite living apart from one another for several years, Emilienne and Salvator have since raised four children together. They still walk to see each other every day, and are waiting until their eldest children are married before moving in together.

The last time I had a photo of myself, I was seventeen years old. It was a picture taken by a priest, but stolen during the war. I will keep this photo in my house and always look at it.

I built this house alone. I am proud to have this big house because when I got married, we were living in a small house. My mother helped me by giving me a loan and I am still paying her back.

My son Irakoze’s chickens. He took this picture.

A poster in my brother’s house. It’s beautiful. Hanging in front is paper from notebooks that we cut to make decorations. My son learnt how to make them at school.

My brother’s son and daughter. Family is very important to me. During my single life, my brothers helped me so much.

“Before + Now” is dedicated to bringing the voices of marginalized coffee farmers into the field of vision of everyday coffee consumers. It includes a series of photographs made by coffee farmers in Burundi, East Africa as well as a large-format portrait of each farmer. This series makes it possible not only to see life in East Africa and the coffee process, but also to connect clearly with the dreams, fears, and hopes of coffee farmers. Read more about “Before + Now” here.

June 14, 2021
Before + Now: Dorothy

“We know that people who buy the coffee are interested to know where it comes from.”

With her loveable personality and seemingly endless wisdom, Dorothy is an anchor in her community. At forty-three years old, she’s no stranger to farming coffee. Her family has been growing it since the 1970s. Farming coffee isn’t difficult, she says, but it takes diligence and hard work.

“Coffee is like raising a child. You have to wash them, nurture them, and look after them.”

The happiest moment in Dorothy’s life was when she learned that she was pregnant. Having been told by doctors that she wouldn’t be able to conceive, falling pregnant with her first daughter (and the five children that followed) was a tremendous source of joy.

Dorothy tries to include her children in the farming process as much as she can, passing on what she’s learned from her grandmother. Growing up, Dorothy’s mom gave her to her grandmother to be raised because she had little means to do so by herself.

“My grandmother became the person who taught me about life and the way to live. She taught me everything I know.”

When she goes out to work on their family’s fields, her youngest daughter tends to follow. She’s recently been teaching her children about the effects of soil erosion, and what they can do to protect the soil. Together, they are planting vegetables around their home and in the small plot of land behind their house to prevent the soil from eroding in the future.

“What is most important though is to lead by example. If I pick up a hoe, they’ll follow and also pick up a hoe.”

Dorothy’s hope for her children is that they finish school but continue to farm, because to her, farming is life.

“The legacy that I would like to leave is to plant coffee trees, so that my children can look at them in the future and say, ‘My mom planted these’.”

“I want to teach them that those coffee trees are not permanent; that they must change them when they get old, so that their children will see them in the future.”

“I was taking photos, hour by hour, of my everyday activities. When you wake up, you wash your face and brush your teeth.”

“I was going to plant yams.”

“An association has helped farmers to keep bees. I was bored staying home, only doing housework. So, I thought let me go out and work with others. As a woman, if you just do housework people think you are not a very important person. I haven’t got a lot of honey…yet.”

“I gave my children each a chicken and one rooster to share. I gave each of my blessings a blessing. Now we will see who gets more chickens. It’s like a test of the blessings. I have to teach them how to have a small business. We don’t know. If school doesn’t go well, the children can start with an idea of what they can do in the future.”

“We were ready to go to church.”

“I took this because of climate change. There is a disease affecting the coffee trees. The coffee cherries are not nice. Some have not ripened, others have dried out. I threw this coffee away.”

“Before + Now” is dedicated to bringing the voices of marginalized coffee farmers into the field of vision of everyday coffee consumers. It includes a series of photographs made by coffee farmers in Burundi, East Africa as well as a large-format portrait of each farmer. This series makes it possible not only to see life in East Africa and the coffee process; but also to connect clearly with the dreams, fears, and hopes of coffee farmers. Read more about “Before + Now” here.

April 29, 2021
Before + Now: Mama Claude

“You should never expect something from someone, but we can grow together. Every time I see my friends, we have the same greeting, “Mugenzi, ntuzerinze.”

My friend, don’t expect something.”

Concilie took on the moniker Mama Claude after the birth of her eldest son, Claude. In Burundi (as in many African countries), it’s tradition that a mother takes on the name of her firstborn child. Her wonderful sense of humor, poise, and humility seem to know no bounds.

Mama Claude’s modest brick home, with its teal-blue door and walkway lined with banana trees, is built close to the dirt road that runs through Gahaga hill in Burundi. She lives here with a brood of children and grandchildren- not all hers. If you ever pass by her house, it’s rare to find her there. She’s most likely out working in a field somewhere, whether it’s her own plot of land or helping a friend. As an active member of a Women’s Village Savings and Loan Association, and the Red Cross Association, she’s always busy with something.

Most mornings, she’s up before the sun, cooking breakfast for her family and small team of laborers before heading out the door for the day, a thermos of hot tea in hand.

Mama Claude started farming in 1970, when she was just sixteen years old. She doesn’t just farm coffee; she’s also a tea farmer, and grows an assortment of subsistence crops to sell and feed her family. To her, growing coffee is the means to nourishing her family. Over the years, she’s divided up 600 coffee trees between her eleven grown children, leaving her now with just sixty to look after.

“When I was younger, I was stronger and could farm more quickly.”

At age sixty-six, she now finds it more difficult to farm. The changing climate has brought about significant challenges to coffee farmers in Burundi: prolonged drought, delayed rains and at times not enough rain. The soil, she says, is not as fertile as it used to be and erosion occurs more frequently. Before, people in her community used to plant without using fertilizer and could expect high yields. Now, it’s difficult to grow crops without animals or fertilizer because the soil has become too acidic.

“It’s sad to see someone farming who doesn’t get production. We have to work together to improve our production, our well-being and the well-being of those who buy our crops.”

“I was in my kitchen cooking dinner. I was going to cook taro¹ on firewood and had just lit a lamp that I bought on credit. Sometimes my children help me to cook but this is my job.”

“This is Melanie. We are in an association called Twungurane ubumenyi which means “Improving our skills together”. We’ve been taught how to build a kitchen garden. I took this picture because she has a nice kitchen garden with many kinds of vegetables. You cannot be a member of this association without having a kitchen garden.”

“An employee who was painting our new house with red-colored cement. Even if building a house requires a lot of money, it provides good health and honor in the community. As the house has many rooms, we will be hosting guests. We will give our old house to our young children who are still studying, and we hope that they will transform it.”

“A man who was looking for clay. In one ditch, you can find different kinds of clay. At the top, there is a black clay and after digging deeply, you can find gray clay that can make good quality and expensive bricks.”

“I took this picture of the tiles to show development. When you use them, it is like taking a step forward. Making tiles requires a special clay that you cannot find everywhere. Tiles are less expensive than metal sheets and last for many years.”

Footnotes

1. Taro is a white-fleshed root vegetable that has a mildly sweet taste and a texture like potato. It is widely grown and eaten in Burundi.

“Before + Now” is dedicated to bringing the voices of marginalized coffee farmers into the field of vision of everyday coffee consumers. It includes a series of photographs made by coffee farmers in Burundi, East Africa as well as a large-format portrait of each farmer. This series makes it possible not only to see life in East Africa and the coffee process; but also to connect clearly with the dreams, fears, and hopes of coffee farmers. Read more about “Before + Now” here.

April 29, 2021
Before + Now: Gervais
Gervais is a seventy-nine year old coffee farmer from the small, coffee-producing nation of Burundi, East Africa. He started farming coffee in 1960, when Burundi was just two years shy of gaining its independence from Belgian rule. As the oldest person in his community, he has dubbed himself as the “grandfather of Gaharo hill”; the area where he lives and grows his coffee. That, and the fact that his grandchildren seem to follow him wherever he goes.

“My house is close to the road. Children in the community often pass by my home to visit. I am also the oldest person in my community. I am like the grandfather of Gaharo hill.”

Growing up, his father- a traditional beekeeper- taught him how to build a beehive from the wood of the umwungo tree (more commonly known as polyscias fulva, an evergreen indigenous to Burundi). Even though he never became a beekeeper himself, Gervais still grows these trees to sell the wood.

If you ask him, Gervais will tell you that his coffee farm is a source of pride and joy. He used to have just under 300 Heirloom Bourbon coffee trees planted on the same plot of land that his house stands on, but as he’s gotten older, he’s started giving them away to his children. As an avid member of Farmer Field School, Gervais’ coffee farm is a model that other farmers in the community can visit to learn best farming practices from him.

“The governor of Muramvya¹ once visited my plantation during a local spraying campaign because it is so nice.”

Over the years, he has planted banana palms, bamboo, and avocado trees alongside his coffee to diversify his farm and protect the soil. At one point, he even started a red wiggler worm farm. More recently, Gervais has started producing organic fertilizer for his coffee trees by composting banana stalks and leaves with ash leftover from cooking.

When we asked Gervais what he’ll do with the photos he took, he replied,

“I am going to show my children the photos I took. I want them to remember that I worked in coffee.”

“This is my grandchild. He always comes with me to my plantation. He follows me, wherever I go. He knows that coffee is important. He knows that if we have coffee, we have rice.”

“I was pruning my trees. I always wear my suit. When I was young, I had many suits. Now, I only have this one.”

“My daughter. She was watering the vegetables outside our house.”

“The women who were sorting coffee at the washing station. I love this washing station. It’s encouraging to see women working in coffee, looking after plantations and earning money.”

Footnotes
1. Muramvya is a province in the central part of the country, and also Gervais’ home province.
“Before + Now” is dedicated to bringing the voices of marginalized coffee farmers into the field of vision of everyday coffee consumers. It includes a series of photographs made by coffee farmers in Burundi, East Africa as well as a large-format portrait of each farmer. This series makes it possible not only to see life in East Africa and the coffee process; but also to connect clearly with the dreams, fears, and hopes of coffee farmers. Read more about “Before + Now” here.
April 29, 2021

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