Family of Giving
UPDATE October, 2025
Progress:
As of October, 2025 the last of the workshops have been scheduled and should be completed by December, 2025.
Positive Outcomes:
1) Women assuming leadership positions in the organization with the highest impact is that there is now a female President at Cecanor organization. President is the highest position within the organization and Paula Chavez was elected a few months ago. She now presides over the meetings of the Board of Directors and the delegate assemblies. She is now the legal representative of the organization and therefore als responsible for the administration of its assets.
2) Within the Territorial Committees there has been a shift in leadership, the majority of members of the Board of Directors are women, as in UCAM-Amazonas and ASPRO-La Florida. They are also women in most of the 50 community committees.
At the end of the project, we will compile a list with the names of all the women currently holding leadership positions and of women who are leading social organizations.
Why Focus on the Women’s Farm Management Roles:
Women look beyond the coffee business; they think about feeding the family, and for that, they plant any plant that provides food, in any free space, even if it’s just a square meter. This is also the reason why women have their guinea pigs, chickens, and pigs; other women like Sabina have their cows. We all think about how we have something to feed the family or generate a small income by selling guinea pigs or chickens, as Erlita does. Women take care of water sources and are concerned about climate change because women are the ones who stay home all the time and can oversee all aspects of the farm to ensure the family’s sustainability.
Workshop Impacts:
Workshops are changing how the women view their role at home, helping them to understand that the time spent on their household activities are necessary, valuable and important. This was a very important objective of the project, because many women did not value the time required for daily activities; no one recognizes them, starting with themselves. Cooking, washing, cleaning the house, taking care of the children, feeding them, taking them to school, and helping them with their chores are often viewed as unpaid and unrecognized obligations for women.
Objective is for all women start to understand their importance and value but for, at least, the women leaders demonstrate to others by sharing their activities and outcomes as they establish new roles in their homes, communities and within the organizations. This is happening as demonstrated by the number of women who are stepping up and taking on leadership roles.
Women’s Leadership Workshops Focus on Vision & Improvement
Women have an overall vision in the leadership of the organization. Women don’t just see the income, we don’t just focus on the price of coffee, they value the services provided by the organization, the technical assistance, the awards and incentives, and the projects that can be achieved by being an organized team. They focus on developing the capacities of all members, helping them learn new farming techniques, new ways to control pests and diseases, and conserving biodiversity by promoting the cultivation of healthy foods. They don’t want to buy contaminated and processed food in large shopping centers but see the importance of producing food, etc. for their family and community. Productive diversification is an important commitment. During these workshops they are distributing vegetable seeds, as well as purple corn seeds, which are highly healthy and generate more income.
Value of Workshops and Strong Leadership:
Like so many around the world, they are currently going through very difficult times with climate change, which is primarily reflected in sudden temperature changes, which further encourage the spread of pests and diseases, and water scarcity. The spread of pests and diseases make the presence of chemical fertilizer and pesticide marketing companies more attractive. These companies are deploying teams of professionals to communities offering chemical products to achieve rapid results in increased production and market control. They even offer the products on credit to be paid for with the next harvest. It takes a lot of hard work to counteract this influence to ensure compliance with organic production and social standards and maintain certification. These workshops have been an excellent tool for being able to provide support and encouragement to the organic coffee producers without Northern Peru.
Photos from Recent Workshops:
