Women ‘womaning’- Understanding the challenges faced by women coffee farmers

By Dr. Rose-Ann Smith

On the 5th of February, 2022 we had our closing ceremony for the project “Strengthening the capacity of women coffee farmers in Jamaica through training”. This project was funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiative and through this funding, we were able to impact the lives of 35 women through four training sessions and care packages.  Throughout the project journey, I was able to observe and listen to our women and it has cemented what I understood to be the challenges faced by women. So, I decided to title this blog women ‘womaning’ and you may be wondering, what does she mean? The challenges faced by our women coffee farmers emphasize their vulnerability and we often hear women, in general, are among the most vulnerable. For me, the challenges I observed are much deeper than those faced by our men coffee farmers because our women are not only experiencing the very same challenges faced by male coffee farmers, but they also have to contend with domestic responsibilities.

Figure 1: Women present at our closing ceremony with their children

At every single training, we saw several of our women with their children of various ages beginning at the tender age of 2. While some were able to make arrangements to have someone look after their children to attend the training, others had to carry them. I stood, I observed, and then I turned to my colleague and asked, “how often, if at any time, do you see men in training with their kids?” Our women coffee farmers had to be ’womaning’ throughout the entire project. Their kids were in the in-house and field training and this was important to note.

At the closing, the High Commission of Canada, Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic recognized and endorsed this reality of our women. She stated “You are role models. You are role models for your communities and the work you do, also for your family and your children. I was also actually relieved to see that some of you were able to juggle your work-life balance bringing your kids here because I did. It's not easy. Anybody that tells you that it is seamless and easy to have children and family and have a business is lying to you. Your children are first, your family is first and you are doing this business to keep everybody afloat including yourselves”. She continued by encouraging the women to continue investing in their farms in order to achieve long-term benefits.

Figure 4: Children playing and waiting outside the school during the in-house training

This is the reality of our women in coffee and this project has taught us the need to appreciate this reality and to make adjustments in this regard. For example, in writing the project, we budgeted for food for our women, but we did not consider the kids. We were grateful that we were able, at each workshop, to have enough food to also provide for the kids, and at the closing, we ensure that we ordered more than enough so that the children could get. The lesson learned was that when we make plans for our women, we must also consider their children. It is for that reason that I also appreciate and must extend thanks to The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) for donating 35 of their newly published ‘Hazards, Disasters and Climate Change’ book geared towards primary level kids ages 8 to 12 as a support to our project. We were able to distribute these to our women at our closing ceremony.

Figure 5: Children posing with the Hazards, Disaster and Climate Change book donated by CCRIF

Additionally, our women had to reorganize themselves for training sessions because not only are they their coffee farmers, but they are also market vendors. It was important for us to set the training dates around their availability, but also be ready to make some minor adjustments to accommodate unforeseen changes. This was another reality of our women that set them aside from some men who tend to be farmers but not vendors. Our women were once again ‘womaning’ and this motivated me to continue to work for our women. In many ways I consider them to be resilient as even with less support, they navigate the hilly terrain of their coffee farms to plant and care for their coffee. They also navigate the treacherous road to Penlyne Castle, to the market and back, but even more so, they have been resisting, absorbing, accommodating, and adapting to the challenges they face. They did not stay away from the training, they showed up at each, even if it meant taking their kids with them. JAWiC is passionate about our women in coffee and will continue to work with them.

Biography

Dr. Rose-Ann Smith is the Project Manager for the project “Strengthening the Capacity of Women Coffee Farmers through Training” organized by Jamaica Women in Coffee (JAWiC) and funded through the Canada Local Fund Initiative (CFLI). She is also a lecturer and disaster risk management consultant at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus