Colombia - Beyond Flagship: Women in Coffee -Equity & Quality

By purchasing El Bombo Mujeres microlots, you are supporting a project that champions women’s contribution to coffee and helps build skills and strengthen gender equity in coffee growing communities throughout Huila and Cauca. As part of our Beyond Flagship program program, this initiative supports advancement toward our IMPACT Goals of Regenerative Agriculture, Human Rights & Living Income. 

Read here the 2025 update: Sucafina and El Bombo Cooperative invested $19,513 USD across four communities in Huila and Cauca: 85 soil analyses, 54 post-harvest kits and 7,000 coffee seedlings delivered to 85 women farmers.

Introduction:

El Bombo Cooperative is deeply invested in the health and wellbeing of their communities and members. Championing the importance of women’s involvement in coffee production and community leadership is one of the most important commitments they make towards these goals. This is why, together, Sucafina and El Bombo have founded the ‘Women in Coffee: Equity & Quality’ program, which strengthens gender equity and invests in skills building in agriculture and coffee processing. Throughout 2024 and 2026, a premium of 5cts/lb (nearly $8 USD per 70kg bag) will be added to all El Bombo ‘Mujeres’ purchases by Sucafina NV and Sucafina NA to fund this important project.

Learn more about the project:

El Bombo's Women and Coffee Project will directly impact 85 women members of El Bombo from 4 communities across Huila and Cauca. In addition to the direct participants, some 300+ people in total (including family members, children of participants and others in the community) will be positively impacted.

The Rationale:

The Women and Coffee project was born from a joint assessment undertaken by Sucafina and El Bombo. Initial analysis found that gender equity is a key factor in achieving more sustainable and higher quality coffee production (along with long-term higher returns). The work of mothers, sisters and daughters is not only crucial to securing the coffee harvest but also contributes to well-being throughout the household and community.

Despite these contributions, the initial analysis showed that:

• Many women within the El Bombo network expressed a reduced sense of independence and autonomy within their coffee organization. 
• Many women also expressed that they lacked access to training and knowledge that would help them contribute more visibly to the economic well-being of their households.  
• There is a great opportunity within the coffee sector to empower women in quality production and assessment so that they can provide leadership in these topics and develop their farms with an eye toward production of specialty and high-quality coffees.

Project Components:

• Promote training and support in physical-sensory analysis and post-harvest processes to improve production quality.
• Generate spaces and dynamics that allow training in self-knowledge, leadership and gender equity in women coffee growers.
• Establish food safety practices and training in healthy eating habits in each of the women coffee growers' farms.

Outcomes/Impact:

• IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES:
  • Technical assistance and training for coffee production
  • Delivery of post-harvest tools and seedlings for new plantings/rejuvenation
• QUALITY AWARENESS TRAINING :
  • Workshops and training in sensory analysis of coffee
  • Sensory and physical maps for quality control
  • Quality exploration field days
• GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT WORKSHOPS:
  • Workshops on gender issues, including self-care, leadership mentoring and recognition of personal value to strengthen empowerment and leadership
  • Workbooks for autonomous work at home to identify and strengthen qualities and skills
• FOOD SAFETY AND EATING HABITS:
  • Course on healthy food preparation and preservation of fruits and vegetables
  • Delivery of subsistence and livelihood diversification kits
  • Delivery of a recipe booklet with healthy preparation ideas and guidance

Contribution options:

Activities will be staggered over two years and are funded by purchases of El Bombo Women’s Group coffees.

• A premium of 5cts/lb (nearly $8 USD per 70kg bag) will be added to El Bombo ‘Mujeres’ coffees purchased, resulting in an annual contribution of around 10k USD annually for each year of the project’s duration. 

In addition to built-in contributions made through coffee purchases, roasters and interested partners can make additional contributions to this project. Just ask your trader. 

About Beyond Flagship projects

Beyond Flagship Projects are initiatives linked to IMPACT-verified farmer groups within Sucafina’s direct supply chains. These projects are designed to offer partners a flexible way to support IMPACT goals, create measurable impact and drive meaningful change at contribution levels below the typical minimum threshold for full project sponsorship.

Investments are made through a premium and do not need to be tied directly to coffee produced by the project’s participating farmers. Instead, support is Origin-specific – for example, purchasing Beyond Flagship contributing coffees from Colombia enables investment in Colombia-based IMPACT Beyond projects. This approach increases flexibility, expands the potential for impact at scale and supports more consistent data collection and reporting across supply chains.