Café Sello Mujer FW

Sello Mujer, a female producer’s group in Valle de Cauca, was founded in 2017 by women farmers seeking to empower themselves and other female producers to improve coffee quality, increase their income and expand their economic opportunities. From the get-go, the women of Sello Mujer have charted a clear path towards empowerment. Their foremost priority is increasing their livelihoods through improved coffee quality. Additionally, they intend to increase visibility for female producers in Colombia.

On the economic side, Sello Mujer seeks to capture additional value in the supply chain by developing their own brand of roasted coffee. Socially, Sello Mujer is about women supporting each other. The group hosts frequent “mingas", communal events similar to barn raisings, where members work together to complete large projects on individual farms.   

They have formed multiple partnerships, including with Yara, a fertilizer company working with IBM to develop a better platform for sharing agronomic advice, weather tracking, quality feedback and more. This Sello Mujer lot was a winner in Yara’s annual quality contest, where the top 10 lots are sold at auction.

In 2020, Sello Mujer’s partnership with Yara is projected to yield approximately 8 to 9 metric tons (about 115 to 130 bags) of coffee that will be transported through the Farmer Connect blockchain. Farmer Connect and their Thank My Farmer app will enable roasters and end consumers to track their coffee’s journey and contribute to Sello Mujer’s goal of purchasing a sample roaster.

Sello Mujer’s partnership with Yara has been focused on quality improvement. This year, the group hopes to use the premiums they receive from any winning lots in Yara’s top-10 auction to purchase a sample roaster. With a sample roaster in their own quality lab, members will be able to improve their cupping skills and see firsthand how their agronomic adjustments are impacting their coffee’s quality.

Female members meet every 2 weeks. Since many of them do not have cars or motorbikes, this is a substantial commitment. It also improves comradery and support among members and with their households. The husbands of members with transport will often support their wives and other members by acting as drivers and shuttling women to and from meetings.

Northern Valle del Cauca is, along with Huila, Nariño and Cauca Departments, becoming known as Colombia’s “new coffee belt.” Previously, the Eje Cafetero (the Colombian Coffee Growing Axis) was the major coffee-producing region in Colombia. However, today’s coffee enthusiasts are turning southward to the “new coffee belt” for brighter, more intense flavors.

Coffee in Valle del Cauca is cultivated at altitudes between 1,600 and 2,000 meters above sea level. The predominant varieties are Castillo, Colombia and few Caturra hybrids. Coffee is typically cultivated under shade with fruit trees, plantains, bananas and some avocadoes intercropped between coffee trees.

Unlike other departments—where coffee growing areas are divided by ecotopes (microclimates)—in Valle del Cauca, the land is divided by micro-cuencas, which are micro river basins that play a significant role in determining coffee quality and taste.