Rosalia’s Journey to Leadership

Rosalia García Ruiz has spent her life in Chirinos, Peru. She knows coffee farming inside out, but things weren’t always the way they are today. “In my childhood, we harvested very little coffee,” she says. “It wasn’t pulped, it was collected as whole beans. Unlike today, where we pick only the ripe cherries, in the past, we’d collect even green coffee and then dry it on the ground.”

Her family weren’t always coffee farmers. “My parents came from Piura,” Rosalia explains. “They migrated here and started learning about coffee little by little. Over time, they acquired land and started growing it.”

Rosalia officially joined the cooperative in 2000, submitting her first 1.5 quintals (68 kgs) of coffee. “At that time, my mother was already a member,” she recalls. “I had my own property, but I only harvested small amounts. At first, I gave most of my coffee to my mother, but then I decided to become a member myself.”

Over the years, Rosalia has seen big changes in the role of women in coffee. “In 2003, I was already part of the board of administration, but women’s participation was very low,” she says. “We were afraid, or we didn’t feel very secure about being part of the cooperative.” She recalls the moment when she was first invited to a leadership event in Lima, but her husband was hesitant. “They spoke to my husband, not to me,” she says. It took encouragement from his aunt to convince him to let her attend. “I went, and I did it. From there, Rosalia started changing. I was no longer so shy.”

Now, Rosalia is the President of the Women Coffee Growers Committee, encouraging other women to step forward. “We can do it, women,” she tells her fellow members. “The words ‘I can’t’ should never be spoken. We can.”

Women’s participation in the cooperative has come a long way, but there are still barriers. “There are boards that still seem to have traces of machismo,” Rosalia admits. “But I want to thank the managers. They have supported women’s development and participation.”

Through support from Cafédirect and Producers Direct, Rosalia and other women farmers have gained access to leadership training and knowledge-sharing opportunities. “It made a difference,” she says. “Now, women know that we can do it. Little by little, discrimination has to come to an end.”

The Women Coffee Growers Committee continues to grow. Today, there are 223 female members, and many are leading their own farms. “We work hard, and we know what we’re doing,” Rosalia says. “We know how to care for the coffee plants, when to plant them, when to harvest. We strive for high-quality coffee, and that’s why we make sacrifices.”

Through Producers Direct, Cafedirect are working with farmers to keep growing women’s influence in coffee. Backing women’s leadership and training means more farmers can run their own farms and earn more from their work.

“We can participate,” says Rosalia. “And that’s what I tell my fellow members. We can do it.”