World Wide Root System

There is a lot, a lot, of coffee in the world. For the 2011-2012 crop season, Bloomberg reports that farmers are harvesting 146 million bags. A bag? It weighs about 132 pounds. The math? That's 19,272,000,000. According to Global Exchange, there are 25 million farmers and workers in over 50 countries producing coffee.

Global Exchange also points out that as beans around the world make their way to the US, they often change hands via middlemen exporters (some have been given the name "coyote" because they can take advantage of small farmers). A lot of small farmers receive less money than it actually costs to cover production. Additionally, working conditions can be horrible, and over half don't receive minimum wages. Children are often taken to the fields to help their families meet picking quotas. These kinds of labor issues also play a role in the lives of women. They need to support their families and are often found without the skills or resources to avoid poverty and live sustainable lives.

This, is where the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA) comes into the picture. There are without a doubt many organizations with missions to help farmers who are struggling. IWCA is one of them and it focuses on creating a global network of women, and men, at all levels of the coffee industry to lift up those who are in need of help. The mission statement of IWCA:

Empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives; and to encourage and recognize the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry.

Within IWCA are many country chapters. Once such chapter that signed its Letter of Understanding with IWCA in April of 2011 is in Burundi. Part of their mission is to "fight discrimination and marginalization of women in the coffee growing community." 

You can see a video about how these efforts are helping to establish connections for women in coffee under the Women and Trade Program here

Coffee beans actually begin their journey as seeds that are planted and given that they are an agricultural commodity, they can be subject to any number of variables. Crops can change from year-to-year. Growing, harvesting and processing takes hard labor and is done by folks all around the world. As the raw beans make their way through the hands of middlemen (or through Fair Trade or through Direct Trade), they continue through a maze of destinations: export, import, transport to roaster and stored. How the beans are roasted and how they are ground and prepared involves their crossing even more hands and lives and livelihoods.  As the beans travel the channels from the ground to our cups, they connect us all through a world wide root system. Respect for the bean begins with respect for the people who grow them.