A project made by women, for women.
Being a woman means, at every moment of the day, being on different stages, facing the most diverse characters of real life. In my personal story, there are many roles: wife, mother, daughter, sister, businesswoman, friend, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, niece, granddaughter—various positions throughout the day. In my path, in my existence, in my heart, the feeling of gratitude because for me, being a woman is a gift, a joy, and an inexplicable pleasure. The fact that we generate life, that we have a gigantic capacity to welcome, nurture, calm, and love life enriches my soul.
Beyond the gratitude of being born to my parents in the 1980s, when long roads towards equality were already being forged, I am grateful to the women and men who fought for gender equality and who left us a better world, for us women. I can't even imagine being born at the beginning of the last century having to ask permission to work, without the right to vote, to speak, or to leave the house alone.
I am aware of the challenges women have faced and continue to face: submission, oppression, femicide, among others. In our society, we are overburdened with demands; a woman's "obligations" are so numerous that I don't even dare to define them here. The triple burden still haunts our homes; the responsibility for the house, for the children, and for fathers in many homes still falls 100% on women, although here we are still in the process of distributing tasks. Being a woman, I have felt belittled, I have felt invisible in some circumstances, I have had to recite my resume before I had a voice to speak, I have noticed my voice weakening under the gaze of an intimidating man, I have experienced moments of fear and anguish on the streets at night for being a "woman alone," I have suffered from the cultural sexism present in Brazil, in my family and also at work.
I feel responsible for continuing on the path of fighting for equal rights, for the social, political, and economic equality of women, for valuing a woman who is at the forefront of her life battling so many issues, and also for leaving the doors of the world open for my daughters: Isabella and Letícia, that they may find themselves on whatever path they choose, that everything may be permitted to them, that they may understand and not suffer from the sexism inherited from our ancestors.
Agrorigem by Woman
The Agrorigem by Woman project was born alongside Agrorigem. Since creating the company, we've had the desire to value women's work. A seal was created to identify batches produced by a female producer; we have a strong interest in highlighting, empowering, and encouraging the dedicated work of women. We believe in efforts to achieve gender equality, which we consider fundamental for development and peace in the world.
We have female producers who took over their farms through succession or family inheritance, others who became widows, others who chose to acquire land to plant, and we also have those who chose to return to the land after a career in another area. Each one has her own story to tell you. In the world of coffee, women have always existed, but invisibly in official documents; currently, more than 40,000 Brazilian agricultural establishments producing coffee are run by women.
This number represents only 13.2% of the 304,500 existing businesses. In addition to female managers, there are also those who are co-managing spouses, with 32,400 women in establishments producing Arabica coffee and 15,700 women in establishments producing Robusta coffee. Therefore, it can be stated that there are 88,700 women managing and co-managing coffee establishments throughout Brazil. This information was extracted from the analysis of data collected in 2017, in the last Agricultural Census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which for the first time included data on gender in coffee production.
This work was developed by researchers Helena Alves, from Embrapa Café; Cristina Arzabe, from the Secretariat of Intelligence and Strategic Relations of Embrapa; and Margarete Volpato, from the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (Epamig), with support from Marcelo Oliveira, from IBGE. Our aim is to highlight the role of women in a more just and equal world.
Association of Women Coffee Entrepreneurs of Santa Rita do Sapucaí – MG – Mantiqueira de Minas.
Today I am the President of the collective – “Association of Women Coffee Entrepreneurs of Santa Rita do Sapucaí – MG – Mantiqueira de Minas”. We support and invest in the autonomy of women as leaders, in their capacity not only to make decisions related to production, but also in their access to the material and social resources necessary to carry out these decisions. Being part of a collective group where we work with women coffee entrepreneurs strengthens me, sustains me, inspires me and motivates me daily.
To overcome obstacles, we need persistence, resilience, continuous learning, and the understanding that there is no such thing as failure, only opportunities to grow and learn from mistakes. Because challenges make you stronger, fear makes you discover your courage, and patience makes you wiser. Follow your journey with faith and conviction that the journey is worth more than the finish line. Learn to enjoy the present without judgment. Take a deep breath and go at your own pace. I have some mottos that I carry with me: "and if you're afraid, go anyway." And another: "learn to rest, not to give up."