WE EMPOWER WOMEN AND SUPPORT THEIR WORK
An important part of the fight against poverty is greater involvement of women in the economy and in the labour market. This is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and something we are keen to help with. Our AMIGAS coffee is made using beans from farms run by women. Arvid Nordquist contributes towards better living conditions by providing long-term support for these farms.
Women who work on coffee farms rarely have access to the resources they need to develop the farm and thus also find it hard to improve their own situation in life. Many women end up alone on the coffee farms, as widows or because the men seek work in the cities. If the women are not officially the owners of their land, they have difficulty accessing credit, for example to purchase fertiliser and so increase production. Through Arvid Nordquist AMIGAS, we are helping to make a better future and develop the role of women in coffee growing.
70% of the world’s coffee is grown on small family farms, often in poor countries suffering civil war. Women tend to do a great deal of the work, but without getting enough in return to live an acceptable life. Grown by Women helps to improve the life chances of these women.
The coffee in AMIGAS comes from cooperatives run by women. By joining together in a cooperative and achieving Fairtrade certification, with support from trade organisations, the farmers have learned how to develop their farming, adapt to climate change and improve the environment.