We’re proud to launch the Women in Coffee Fund, a long-term giveback initiative built to support independent female coffee producers across Colombia. From here on out, 5% of every purchase from our Women in Coffee series goes straight into the fund. Every quarter, we’ll invest in one project led by one of our female producer partners in Colombia. This is our way of deepening the relationships we’ve built at origin and backing women with practical support to help improve and grow their coffee production, farms, and livelihoods.
We’re so excited to launch the Women in Coffee Fund, a long-term giveback initiative built to support independent female coffee producers across Colombia. From here on out, 5% of every purchase from our Women in Coffee series goes straight into the fund. Every quarter, we’ll invest in one project led by one of our female producer partners in Colombia. This is our way of deepening the relationships we’ve built at origin and backing women with practical support to help improve and grow their coffee production, farms, and livelihoods.
We created this impact fund because women power Colombia’s coffee sector, yet they still face structural barriers. Women do much of the work in coffee production, handling up to 75% of field tasks and 70% of post-harvest activities. Despite their role, only about 30% are formally registered as producers. An estimated 163,046 women coffee producers remain unregistered, largely due to limited land ownership, restricted access to credit, and cultural norms that continue to block recognition and leadership. Overall, women make up 30% of Colombia’s coffee producers and cultivate 26% of the country’s total coffee area.
Female-managed farms face a productivity gap of roughly 24% compared to male-managed farms of similar size, and women in agriculture earn about 82 cents for every male dollar. While those gaps are persistent, the upside of closing them is huge. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 2023 findings estimate that improving equity in agrifood systems could raise global GDP by nearly one trillion dollars and improve food security for more than 45 million people. For us, this isn’t charity: it’s long-term investment in the people behind some of Colombia’s best coffees.
Support for the projects selected for investment through the fund is designed to be practical and useful right away, whether that’s through reimbursements or direct provision of materials, training, infrastructure, and strategic services: the kinds of tools that remove bottlenecks and help women producers keep moving forward.
To launch this impact fund, we’ve established a process for choosing producers to receive project funding. Our sustainability and direct trade coffee buying team will prioritize women producers already supplying consistent volume and quality, as well as those who would see meaningful impact from targeted support. Every three months, we’ll review Women in Coffee sales to confirm the available budget. From there, we co-develop each project directly with the producer, starting from understanding her current challenges and creating actionable steps that fit the fund’s focus areas. The goal is to drive short-term improvements while building long-term resilience.
To qualify for funding, projects should align with at least two areas across three strategic focus areas, including:
1. Livelihood improvements, like farm-level equipment including drying beds and storage systems, income diversification, or support with finance, commercialization, and digital connectivity
2. Capacity and leadership support, like training in sustainable farming, quality, and post-harvest, and leadership and entrepreneurship development, including access to networks and visibility
3. Territory conservation and climate resilience, including support for regenerative agricultural practices, water protection, ecosystem restoration, and climate adaptation
With this new initiative, we’re approaching this as a learning experience to continue refining the project and continually improve it. We’re testing whether customers will actively choose women-produced coffees when visibility is clear, whether the fund becomes a meaningful differentiator for Devoción, and whether long-term investment leads to deeper ties with women-producer communities. We’re committed to publishing an annual report and maintaining an internal dashboard so progress stays transparent and accountable.
We’re proud to launch this fund and the projects it will support. Most importantly, it’s built with producers, not for them. This is one step toward a more equitable coffee sector, and we’re committed to growing it for the long term.
