The Equal Exchange Women in Coffee Series
Coffee lovers will notice a new roast in our bulk bins: organic First Light, the latest limited-duration offering in Equal Exchange’s Women in Coffee series. This light roast Peruvian coffee is sweet and fruity, with notes of raspberry, honey, lemon, and molasses.
What is the Women in Coffee series?
According to Ashley Krant of Equal Exchange, “We want this series to be a tribute to the women working to make delicious coffee at all steps of our supply chain, and to highlight the coffees that are connected to these women. Globally, from farm to roastery, coffee is an industry dominated by men. Women farmers, cuppers, technicians and leadership staff often face a unique set of cultural and societal challenges that are less common with their male counterparts.
“We rotate these coffees roughly every four months. We are lucky to have multiple people at Equal Exchange that have regular on the ground experience with producer co-ops. Usually, our quality manager learns of exciting projects related to gender equity as she travels to origin, or nominates a specific person that she’s worked with for years to focus on. Once the story and group is selected, she identifies an exceptionally delicious lot to roast for it, and creates the tasting language specific to each coffee.”
Where does First Light come from?
Equal Exchange sources the beans for First Light from the Piura region of Perú. The coffee comes from the Norandino Cooperative, which Equal Exchange describes as “a model for gender equity in the cooperative sector, having implemented wage solidarity and sexual harassment policies to encourage women’s inclusion and leadership.”
The coffee comes from four varietals, Typica, Catimore, Geisha, and Variedad Colombia. Co-op members grow these coffees from 1200-1500 meters (roughly 4000-5000 feet) above sea level.
First Light is a limited-duration offering from Equal Exchange, and is only available for a few months. Learn from my mistake: I didn’t try the previous coffee in the Women in Coffee series, North Star from Colombia, until it was nearly at the end of its run. I then discovered that it was my favorite Equal Exchange coffee so far. Try First Light now… it just might be your new favorite!
Who grows the First Light coffee beans?
The beans that go into First Light come from the Norandino Cooperative of northern Perú. Norandino farmers grow coffee, cacao, and sugar. Norandino is, in turn, made up of smaller “base level” cooperatives, including San Miguel Fique, a cooperative of 24 members, eight of whom are women. Two of these members are women named Flor, who have both served on the co-op’s board of directors.
Flor Lizana Laban is a founding member of her co-op, a mother of two, and an entrepreneur. She farms five acres of coffee interplanted with shade and fruit trees, like guava. In addition to growing coffee for export, she sells her coffee locally. She carefully roasts it in a ceramic bowl over the fire. She also works as a weaver, making bags, hammocks, and scarves.
Flor Violeta Yajahuanca Solís, on the other hand, joined her co-op more recently. She serves on the regional board of directors. Also a mother of two, she and her husband farm 2½ acres of coffee. “For a woman it is never easy to detach from home,” she says, “especially when there are small children. But if you set your mind to it and have understanding with your partner, it can be achieved.” Inspired to join the co-op by seeing the benefits of her father’s membership, “Today I am a director of the area. When they proposed the position to me, I didn’t know how to say no. Here we are, in the struggle, coexisting with respect between men and women.”
What is Equal Exchange?
Equal Exchange is a cooperative that centers authentic Fair Trade, and has since its inception some forty years ago. According to Equal Exchange, their mission is “to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.”
Equal Exchange is the rare business that is authentic and loyal to its mission from top to bottom, and LifeSource has been privileged to work with them and learn from them for many years.
How can I learn more about the Equal Exchange Women in Coffee series?
Equal Exchange has a page on their website dedicated to the Women in Coffee series. You can learn more about Equal Exchange’s advocacy for increased gender equality at every stage in the coffee supply chain here.
You can also watch a short documentary from Equal Exchange and The Perennial Plate here:
Try one of our kitchen tested recipes!
Enjoy your Equal Exchange coffee with one of these recipes from LifeSource!
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