Great coffee, sure - but why grown by women?

Women in Coffee: A Story of Underrepresentation

Farmer harvesting coffee cherries

Globally, women are estimated to make up 70-80% of the labour in coffee production, yet they are in the minority of farm owners and decision-making roles. Often, cultural norms, legal systems, and financial barriers prevent women from accessing land, credit, and agricultural training. 

Despite these obstacles, women are often responsible for the most labor-intensive aspects of coffee production — planting, weeding, harvesting, and processing. Yet they frequently see the least return for their labor.

Sourcing from women’s cooperatives and women-owned farms is Café Madre’s way of helping rebalance this equation.

Empowerment Through Economic Inclusion

By choosing to work only with women-led farms and cooperatives, we're not just buying quality beans — we’re investing in livelihoods. Economic inclusion is one of the most powerful tools for social change, and it’s long been evidenced that gender inequality perpetuates poverty. When women have control over income and resources, the benefits ripple outward: families thrive, children stay in school longer, and entire communities grow stronger.

In many rural farming communities, women face a cycle of disempowerment that begins with lack of access to land and continues through economic dependency, limited education, and exclusion from formal decision-making.

When we buy coffee from female farmers, we are helping to break that cycle. Our sourcing model creates a sustainable income for women and helps fund programs that address root causes of inequality.

Some of the coffees we have sourced so far have contributed to positive change for female farmers with initiatives such as:

• Adult education (El Bombo, Tierra Madre and Primavera)

• Increased access to legal resourses (Tierra Madre and Primavera)

• Supporting agricultural development practices (Coko and El Bombo)

Transparency and Traceability

Our commitment to women producers also supports another core value: transparency.

By partnering directly with women-led cooperatives and smallholder farms, we’re able to trace each lot of coffee back to its source. We know who grew it, how it was processed, and what conditions the farmers are working under. This level of traceability gives you, the consumer, the confidence that your coffee is truly making a difference.

This is known as ‘single-origin coffee’. There’ll be a blog post devoted to this soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Join Us on the Journey

We're just starting out, and we'd love to invite you to become part of this movement!

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Choose our coffee for your home, office, or café, purchasable online at www.cafemadre.co.uk

• Recommedn sympathetic stockists; we love to work with shops, delis and cafés that share our values!

• Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about new harvests, sourcing stories, and offers available on www.cafemadre.co.uk

• Follow us on social media: @cafemadreuk on Instagram, CafeMadreUK on TikTok.

  
  

Because behind every cup, there is a woman whose hard work and vision deserves to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Final Thoughts

Sourcing coffee from women-only producers isn’t a gimmick or a marketing angle. It's making sure credit and goes where it's due; and enjoying an excellent variety of coffees along the way. It’s also about honoring the labor and leadership of women who form the backbone of their communities as well as our supply chains; but rarely get the recognition or reward they deserve.

So the next time you brew a cup, take a moment to think about where it came from — and know that it’s more than just coffee. It’s a catalyst for change.