Fairtrade Bolivia Union ProAgro Cafe Femenino

Fairtrade Bolivia Union ProAgro Cafe Femenino

Overcoming a variety of barriers, including geographic isolation, rugged terrain, and a traditionally lower status in society, the women of the Café Femenino Bolivia Program have successfully improved their coffee-producing livelihoods, their future prospects, and the health of their families and communities.
It all started in 2009, when the women separated their coffee production from the men’s, created a women’s association, and started their own Café Femenino Program in Bolivia.

One of the first advancements the women in Bolivia achieved upon joining Café Femenino was having their names included on the titles to their land. This may sound trivial, but by doing so, the land remains with each woman if she becomes abandoned or is widowed, thereby providing protection from further poverty for herself and her children.

Psychologically, this act instils a sense of value and ownership over each woman’s livelihood and business. This is a powerful means of creating self-esteem for women who are accustomed to being viewed as servants to their husbands.

Coffee in Bolivia

Landlocked Bolivia sits high in the Andes Mountains of South America, bordering coffee growing Peru to the North West and Uber Coffee growing Brazil to the North and East. Geographically, Bolivia is part mountainous, part Amazonian rainforest and part dessert. With over 30 recognized official languages, it is a diverse and varied country, linguistically, geographically and with its climate and biodiversity. Economically, Bolivia has prospered under the last President Evo Morales and its foreign exchange reserves have grown substantially thanks to exports of Tin, minerals, Textiles refined petroleum and coffee!

The vast majority of coffee in Bolivia is produced in the Yungas areas of Bolivia. Many of the large landowners have had their farms expropriated by various governmental reforms, and handed back to rural farming families – meaning many small holder farms, producing 95% of Bolivia’s coffee.

Either intentionally or not, much of the coffee grow in Bolivia is Organic. High altitude, fertile soils and constant rainfall throughout the year make Bolivia a perfect location for growing coffee, however a lack of investment in infrastructure does pose logistical problems for the export of coffee.

Like neighbouring Peru, coffee from Bolivia is medium bodied, creamy and lightly acidic. It’s cocoa and nutty tones make it a very usable coffee for blending, and some of the higher altitude specialty producers are creating standalone coffees scoring well on the SCAA score. Plenty of Fairtrade Organic coffee can be sourced from Bolivia, as well Café Femenino – the empowering female lead Co Operatives working to improve the lives of women coffee producers around the world.