In Santander, women's strength does not need to be reinvented – it is deeply rooted and passed down from generation to generation. It dates back to the turbulent days of independence, when Manuela Beltrán, an educated and courageous peasant woman, tore up the viceroy's edict in the public square of El Socorro in 1781 and raised her voice against the abuses of the colonial regime. Antonia Santos also led a patriotic network in this region during the Spanish Reconquista – with the same determination she exemplified to her daughters, she bravely faced imprisonment and execution. Her niece, María Antonia Santos Plata, was executed at the age of only 24, leaving behind a legacy of courage that continues to inspire women in Santander to this day.
In this region of fertile mountains, strong character and vivid memories, women have always been the pillars of the household, guardians of agricultural knowledge and driving forces behind coffee production. Yet their work remained invisible for a long time, was poorly paid and often overlooked in decision-making processes. Until now.
Today, a new generation of women coffee farmers in communities such as Socorro, Guapotá, Valle de San José, Aratoca, Curití, San Gil, Pichote and Páramo are continuing the history of resistance. As part of the Caficultoras construyendo prosperidad project (Women Coffee Growers Building Prosperity) – initiated by Swisscontact, financed by a renowned US coffee company and co-financed by the Colombia más Competitiva programme of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) – 25 women involved in the C.A.F.E. Practices–ECOM supply chains are regaining something that has always been theirs: the right to decide for themselves about their lives, their farms and their future.
Luz Herminda Gutiérrez knew early on that her life would be connected to coffee. As a child, she wandered among the rows of coffee plantations that stretch up the mountains of Santander and learned to pick ripe coffee cherries. Later, she raised her children with the income from her 2.4-hectare farm in El Urumo, a municipality in Socorro. But it was only recently – with the support of the project – that she began to see her land as a business and herself as an entrepreneur.
Before receiving psychosocial support, Luz Herminda suffered from severe depression. "I felt incapable and worthless. But now I love myself and find myself beautiful," she admits. She began to exercise, take care of herself and make herself a priority. This inner change also had an effect on her home: "We are now closer to each other. There used to be a lot of shouting and arguing, but now there is dialogue and cooperation. Everything that is done with love makes a difference."
With renewed energy, she modernised outdated farming methods, employed innovative techniques, planted over 3,000 new coffee plants and began to diversify her income by raising laying hens. She learned how to produce microorganisms to promote coffee cultivation – for example, by using chicken manure – and improved her post-harvest processes. But the most profound change took place within herself.
With a firm voice, she leaves a message for other women in the countryside who, like her, may one day have stopped dreaming:
Unlike Luz Herminda, Nelly Camargo did not grow up among coffee plantations. She is more urban in character and was financially dependent on her husband, who now lives abroad, for many years. But the family farm in Tinagá, a village in Charalá, eventually became the centre of her life and her challenge.
"Having a farm is easy. Making it productive is the hard part," she says honestly.
Although her son manages the farm, Nelly devotes much of her time to the daily activities necessary to maintain it. However, she receives no income for this work. The farm generates between 30% and 40% profit per annual harvest, but her work is not yet remunerated as she considers fair. Through the project, she has received psychosocial support, psychological assistance and empowerment – and she already has her next step in mind: breeding chickens as her own source of income.
Nelly represents many women who suddenly and unprepared have to take over the management of the farm – in the midst of their grief, with the entire burden on their shoulders. Her story is also a story of awakening.
Taking over the management of the farm, coping with grief, running the household and persevering forced her to redefine herself as a woman and as a coffee farmer. ‘Today, I take care of the farm every day, even though I don't get paid for it,’ she admits. But her perspective has changed. She is considering new sources of income, such as chicken farming, and is convinced that women must shape the future of rural areas. "The pandemic was my lesson in life, because that's when I understood that the farm is my greatest blessing."
The project ‘Caficultoras construyendo prosperidad’ arose from an observation that was repeated too often to be ignored: women who had taken over the management of their farms after the loss of their husbands or due to their prolonged absence – and who were experiencing grief, fear or emotional overload as a result.
"We saw abandoned fields, demotivation, decay," explains Amalia Muñoz, Director of Sustainability at ECOM Colombia. "We realised that we couldn't make any progress in production without taking the emotional aspects into account."
This led to the creation of a groundbreaking model: a combination of emotional empowerment and technical training. A measure that ranges from emotions to crop profitability and has brought about lasting change for both farms and families.
Sandra Luna Delgado, psychologist and head of psychosocial support, is convinced: "Empowerment is not a discourse, but a painful and courageous process. Many women have learned that they have the right to rest, to say no and to lead without feeling guilty." Sandra works with a cognitive-behavioural therapeutic approach that is adapted to the reality of rural women in Santander and enables them to become active from day one.
Sandra also emphasises how important it is to work together with men. "It's not about pushing others aside, but about developing new ways of living together. When men understand that they are not losing power, but gaining well-being, the possibility for change opens up."
The results speak for themselves: women who now sow, save and dream with purpose. Certified farms, chickens that lay eggs, and dreams that take root. "Many tell me that they feel different, that their faces have changed. That is freedom. And for a woman who was trapped in pain, that is priceless," concludes Sandra.
In a society where gender stereotypes continue to play a major role and it is still difficult to show emotions openly, the project Caficultoras construyendo prosperidad has enabled many women to recognise themselves not only as coffee workers, but also as active shapers of their own destiny.
This commitment to their economic and emotional independence is not aimed at displacing anyone, but rather at promoting new forms of coexistence and development in rural areas.
"Women are ready to take on leadership roles. They just need to feel capable of doing so," says Amalia.
Today, the 25 participating women are already beginning to change their lives amid coffee plantations, chickens and personal projects. 89% report an improvement in their emotional well-being, 68% report greater self-confidence, and all have participated in empowerment processes and psychosocial care. The project hopes that at least 60% of them will achieve greater emotional stability, 30% will develop their own business plan, and at least half will expand productive activities beyond coffee cultivation, including training in financial literacy and business management.