Change for Better - Local Women Leaders
Seven women from all around the world have one common mission: to build a more sustainable future. Together, with the support of the Lavazza Foundation, these women pave the way as local community leaders to make a change for better on a global level.
Meet our local female leaders and discover the stories of real women sparking real change.
Rina
I’m Rina, a coffee grower in Honduras, aand I am one of nearly 85 thousand small coffee producers who participated in The Foundations training on good agricultural practices to increase the resilience towards the fight against climate change. Thanks to Lavazza, I completely renewed my way to cultivate coffee: I learned how to preserve its quality and to protect my plantations in order to ensure their survival.
Nadia
I’m Nadia, the President of AFIMAD (Indigenous Forestry Association of Madre de Dios), and I’m a community member of Boca Pariamanu. I’m 35-years-old and a mother of three. I was born and raised in Boca Pariamanu, carrying a lifelong history and bond to the forest and natural habitat of the surrounding area. The Boca Pariamanu is a native community in the Tambopata district and is supported by CESVI as a part of the SuperA Peru project. The project promotes economic-productive activities in harmony with the conservation of the forests they inhabit.
Sheila
I’m Sheila, the Country Director of Sawa World where I manage a project on the project on young entrepreneurs in Uganda “Ujana”. At 32-years-old and with over nine years of working with Sawa World, my passion for supporting youth throughout Uganda has become an inspiration to many young women. Thanks to The Foundation, I began working more closely with agriculture and the coffee world, helping youth find new opportunities within the coffee business world. In 2020 alone, 380 youth benefited from sources of income linked to local coffee cultivation.
Isabel
I’m Isabel, 55-years-old and mother of nine. I’m one of the older 20 Maya Poq’omchi’ women in San Lucas, Guatemala, supporting the local families and community. Thanks to the tools and resources provided by The Foundation and Verdad y Vida, we have helped revitalise our once war-torn village of nearly 1,000 Maya Poq’omchi’ inhabitants. We tell a story of survival. I have been unjustly imprisoned and robbed, and now I proudly stand for my children and my community.
Ambrosia
I’m Ambrosia, the President of Cooperativa de Productorese y Productoras de Cafe’ de Sierra de Neyba. Since I was born into coffee cultivation, I not only know the coffee world, but understand the negative effects climate change can have on coffee cultivation and the importance of integrating sustainable solutions to help local farmers and produce quality coffee. In 2003, together with nine local coffee producers in the area, I helped create a cooperative to help small producers. Today, the cooperative I chair groups more than 600 producers. My story is one that started from family coffee traditions that later evolved into the founding of a sustainable cooperative where I now support my local community as well as hundreds of coffee producers throughout the Dominica Republic.
Carmen
I’m Carmen, a coffee farmer living and working in Vereda del Carmen in Huila, Colombia. I’m one of the protagonists from the 2016 Lavazza Calendar From Father to Son. My passion for coffee farming lies in the ability it gives me to better care for and support my children and grandchildren. One of my biggest prides is my granddaughter, Anayibe, another protagonist of the 2016 Calendar. She dreamt of studying abroad so that she can eventually come back to help our local community. I work hard everyday so that I can help her in building a better future. Our relationship is a symbol of hope, one that highlights the importance of education and the coming together of family and community in supporting one another. Thanks to support by The Foundation and Slow Food, I now cultivate quality coffee through sustainable methods, strengthening my lifelong bond with the local land.
Pinki
I’m Pinki and I’m one of the New Horizon Café baristas, part of the Cup of Learning Lavazza Foundation project in India. My upbringing was financially strained and as such, I began working at a young age to support my family of seven in Tangra, India. Unable to fulfil my passion for studying, I committed to finding a better job. Once I heard about the Lavazza coffee training I immediate enlisted. After my training, I started working in the New Horizon Café, which, although met with disagreement from my brothers, has enabled me to carve out a better life for myself and my family. I learned quickly and thrived in my new job and my new life. I’m now dare to dream beyond the world I have known, one day looking forward to flying abroad and seeing the world.
