Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2017

Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005

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25 www.baristamagazine.com In Guatemala, men have been slow to acknowledge women in the occupation, never- mind teach them—or take orders from them. Louisa Rodriguez, a 25-year-old who recently completed her master's degree in coffee economics, and is the third generation in her family to work in coffee, explained, "They don't follow orders, at all, from a woman." Farm owner Jennifer Leon-Owens describes a hierarchical and patriarchal system: "The way my father managed the farm was he never knew any of the employ- ees' names. He only dealt with the admin- istrator and the offi ce men, and that was it. He wouldn't even salute the workers when he rode by. But most of the old farmers are like that." When Jennifer took over the farm, her training as a psychologist served her well. "The fi rst year was very diffi cult," she says. "The administrator had to grow accustomed to a woman boss and a different style of management. But now, I have a good rela- tionship with all my employees. I say hello to everybody. I go into their homes, I see their conditions, I try to improve their lives." By visiting, she realized two of her workers' children are deaf. "We just bought them Kindle Notes in the States, because they're going to a special school for deaf and needy children," she says. "We're really trying to help, and that was especially satisfying." This spring, Genuine Origin plans to offer a community lot comprised entirely of coffees from women producers. Working with them on the Genuine Origin side will be Maria Renee Morales, whose bright eyes widen when she's asked about her experience as a woman in coffee. Maria underwent two years of training— one year in the mills, where she learned to pick, dry, wash, store, sort, and weigh coffee followed by a year in the offi ce, learning everything about the economics of farming, buying and trading coffees. Yet the fi rst time she tried to buy coffee from a producer, she was refused. "I called and said, 'My name is Maria Renee, I work for Volcafe Specialty, and I'd like to offer a price.' And they just shut me out. 'Yeah, yeah, thank you. I'm going to talk to your boss. Pass me to your boss.' And I said, 'No, I can give you the price,' and again: 'No, no, I want to talk to your boss.'" Maria says a key to her success has been to develop a thick skin. But sitting with the Mujeres en Café, she is all graciousness and warmth. "When you hear everybody's story, they always have a father who died or a hus- band who died. They didn't choose this. The easy exit would have been to sell the farm. But no. They all chose to stay and work and to do this. That's an element that I respect so much. I think it's quite a journey." ÑMichelle Maisto Mujeres en Café de Guatemala, a group of female coff ee producers who meet to continue learning about coff ee and to be resources for one another, listen to a presentation about Volcafe Way, an agricultural and business strategy for helping producers become and remain profi table. Celeste Fumagalli, in the olive jacket, recently stepped down a er two years as president of the group. www.pacificfoods.com/foodservice ©2017 Pacific Foods of Oregon, Inc. All rights reserved. "The way Pacific Foods implements barista feedback is unparalleled in the coffee industry and shows in their Pacific Barista Series TM . No other non-dairy foams with such amazing texture, is so great for latte art, and has such wonderful flavor." Anna Gutierrez – National Sales Consultant, Barista 22 is Always ®

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