Have you heard about our Raíz Women's Group?

Luz Marina Grisales with daughters Francy, and July

There were two root causes Westrock Coffee developed Raíz's Women's Group:
-They were busy caring for their families and playing a key role on their farms. So, making time to attend Raíz training and implementing more time-consuming farm practices wasn’t feasible.
-Many women grew up with the feeling that the coffee business was a space only for men, so they shied away from participating in general trainings.

To help solve the problem, Westrock Coffee and implementing partners offered a flexible, women’s only training space and challenge fund.
The training space offered virtual agricultural trainings that could be completed at any time and a group message board so women could ask questions. Additionally, a psychologist offered the women sessions on recognizing their value, voicing gender inequalities, improving their confidence, and owning their position in the coffee industry.

The challenge fund required women to complete a series of improvements on their farms with support from Raíz partners. All who completed the fund would receive washing machines. This provided an immediate cost/benefit case to the women: Short-term, they invest time in training and farm improvements. Long-term, they receive resources that give them hours of their day back.