MILAN – Where does the coffee we drink come from and how many hands did it take to cultivate it? How many of these hands were women’s? According to the International Trade Center, 70% of the work dedicated to cultivating, harvesting and processing coffee is done by women.
However, only 10% of the women have access to the market and therefore get recognition for their work.
It is estimated that the livelihood of more than 500 million people in the world depends on coffee, which justifies how the role of women is fundamental today to design a sustainable future for our planet.
A small section of the world
Always attentive to the themes of social, environmental and economic sustainability, illycaffè in 2014 has produced an international documentary A Small Section of the World, directed by Oscarwinner Lesley Chilcott with the soundtrack by Alanis Morrisette.
The film tells the story of a group of courageous women who decided to react to the serious economic crisis that hit their small community in Costa Rica by becoming coffee producers.
This is a story of women’s emancipation and strength: women of ASOMOBI and their coffee cooperative representing a sustainable model of great inspiration for all.
Only 4 months after it was launched, 12 million people in the world have come into contact with this project.
The film reached a television audience of over 8 million viewers in the world and has scored more than 200,000 online views.
The song by Alanis Morisette “The Morning” was seen by more than 400,000 online users.
On March 17, 2015 the UN hosted a showing of A Small Section of the World at the Geneva headquarters.
Arancha Gonzalez, Head of the International Trade Center, in a recent interview explained exquisitely the importance of the role of women for a sustainable future.
“A recent documentary — ‘A Small Section of the World’ — tells the story of how a group of women in Costa Rica overcame stereotypes, fires and other obstacles to export their coffee after their men had left the village in search of jobs abroad […] But does it matter that entrepreneurs are women? It does. We know that opportunities for women to earn money can create a ripple effect: women invest up to 90 percent of her income into their families and local communities, compared to around 40 percent for men. And that means that a successful woman entrepreneur can put food on the table, pay for health services and send her children to school, so that one day they will be able to run businesses of their own: in the coffee sector, perhaps, but maybe — why not? — the next Facebook.”
The first International Seminar – 2014
Illycaffè, together with the Ernesto Illy Foundation, sponsored and organized on March 27th-28th, 2014 the first international seminar “WOMEN IN THE WORLD OF COFFEE – Fostering the Quiet Revolution through Education and Access”.
During this occasion, more than 80 people, including 60 women from 16 countries around the world, attended the event.
As a result of this seminar, a few of the 2014 women participants have continued to work on these issues and will be at the World Expo 2015 as this year’s speakers.
The 2nd Seminar Women in the World of Coffee: Fostering the “Quiet Revolution” – Sustainability in women’s hands takes place today (October 2nd 2015) at EXPO – hosted by the Colombian Pavilion at 10.30.
Here is the programme:
