Empowering Women Coffee Farmers
“To rebuild the spirit of a woman is to rebuild the spirit of a country.” That’s part of the mission statement of Rebuild Women’s Hope, an organization based in Bukavu, on the edge of Lake Kivu in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was started by a local Congolese woman and the organization works to empower local women coffee farmers. It’s one of many initiatives around the world focused on empowering women coffee farmers.
I wrote an article all about the topic that was published this week on Sprudge. Here’s a short snippet:
As part of that agricultural web, coffee is an industry dependent on the work of women around the globe, making gender equity an essential part of the sustainable coffee supply chain. “Most of the obstacles faced by women coffee farmers are the same as those found across the agriculture sector,” says Nick Watson, a coffee-sector adviser with the International Trade Centre, who has an initiative focused on women in coffee. “Social norms often discriminate against women in rural areas leading to disproportionate land and asset ownership; household and income decision making; time and labour distribution; access to information and training; and participation and leadership in rural organisations or as registered suppliers to agribusinesses.”
Despite these obstacles, it’s often thanks to women that the coffee production happens in the first place. “Women are on the front lines when it comes to our beloved cup of coffee. They serve as the primary labor force on roles that most affect quality, from picking the ripe coffee cherries off the tree to sorting beans throughout processing. Despite their significant role, most earnings go to men who own the property and manage commercial deals,” says Phyllis Johnson, president of BD Imports.
You can read the full article here.
Image: Glenna Gordon courtesy ITC
Downloadable “Fighting for What is Right” Poster for Women’s March and Beyond
Pablo Picasso once said that, “Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy.”
The same can be said for art in general. Art is a powerful tool. It is how we communicate. It is how we express ourselves. I made a papercut the day after the U.S. presidential election, inspired by a line in Hillary Clinton’s speech. I eventually turned it into a limited edition print.
In honor of the Women’s March on Washington, and the many marches and protests that I hope are to come as we as citizens stand up for ourselves, our sisters and our brothers, I decided to make a downloadable version. It’s free and available to anyone who wants to use it. Art for the people. Print it, post it, carry it.
Download here.
“Stand With A Million” Buttons
These 2.25″ buttons are being made in honor of the Women’s March on Washington, taking place in Washington D.C., and at other locations all around the country, on January 21, 2017. Buttons are currently in production and will be shipped out Monday January 16, 2017. Buttons are printed by One Inch Round in Portland, Oregon with 65% recycled steel and 100% recycled, FSC-certified paper.
$1 of each sale goes to Planned Parenthood. You can buy one here.
“Write Like a Motherfucker” Notebook
“Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense—the creative act.”
– Kenneth Rexroth
As the new year kicks off, I have been thinking about the necessity of ideas and words. Without them, we are soulless, both individually and culturally.
At the end of last year, I made a papercut inspired by a line from Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar column. I wanted to use it to inspire others to create, so over the holidays, I turned them into a notebook, printed by Scout Books. They’re meant to fuel all kinds of revolutionary ideas and writing.
They’re available in my shop now, and 10% of the proceeds goes to supporting PEN America, an organizations working to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide.
“Protest Fuel: The Revolution Must Be Fed” – Benefit Zine
In January 2017 (just in time for the Million Women’s March) my friend Caitlin and I will be releasing Protest Fuel: The Revolution Must Be Fed. We are currently wrapping up the final design so that we can send it to the printer right after the new year.
No matter who we are or here we live, we must eat. Food is something that unites us. With that in mind, I wanted to use food as a catalyst for change. Protest Fuel is a collection of recipes, essays, artwork and quotes, all with the goal of inspiring you to take action, whether that’s by hosting a comforting soup night or getting out on the frontlines in a protest.
The zine itself is will be printed in January 2017 in Seattle by Girlie Press. All of the contributors to this zine have volunteered their recipes, stories and time, and for that I am very grateful.
I wanted this zine to benefit a cause, but how to choose? There is no way to choose. There are so many issues that are important right now. I have chosen to donate 100% of the proceeds to the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. When women thrive, so does society. Without the environment we have nothing. As one of the WEDO founders Vandana Shiva once said, “In nature’s economy the currency is not money, it is life.” I hope that this zine inspires you to choose life, to be active within your own communities, and to support the people and initiatives committed to positive change.
You can preorder Protest Fuel: The Revolution Must Be Fed here.
“I Look Like a Farmer” Greeting Cards to Support Women in Agriculture
I have spent a lot of this year asking myself how I can contribute to my community and beyond. As you may know, that has come in the form of publishing Comestible. Creating a platform for telling stories about food and food production has felt like the right thing for me to be doing, a way to contribute to the world in a creative and educational way.
But I wanted that platform to be able to do more. So I called up my friend Audra Mulkern of The Female Farmer Project. I love Audra’s work, and she is an amazing advocate for women farmers and sustainable agriculture.
I had made Audra a papercut inspired by one of her photographs earlier in the year, intending to eventually use it in Comestible. But in instead, it spawned an idea. “What if we did a series of cards and used them to raise money to support female farmers?”
So here we are.
I made three more papercuts inspired by Audra’s original photographs, and we turned them into a series of greeting cards called I Look Like a Farmer. The cards are 5×7″ (so perfect for framing even if you don’t want to send them!) and printed locally in Seattle, WA at woman-owned printing company Girlie Press.
Signed Books Available for Holiday Gift Giving {The Culinary Cyclist, Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break and Hello, Bicycle}
I recently launched a revamped shop for my books and other creative endeavors, and I have added in signed copies of most of my books. If you order, I’m even happy to personalize them!
So if you have been debating on getting a copy of The Culinary Cyclist, Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break or Hello, Bicycle, now is the time to hop on over and order a copy (or two, holiday season is the perfect book giving season).
I am also going to be adding in a few more items during the month of December, including original artwork, so keep your eyes on that space.
This Week’s Stories: Textile and Coffee Waste, Sustainable Beer and Taking Action
Here is some of my work published this week:
Coffee Waste or Product Potential? – This story was featured in the print edition of Fresh Cup but is also up online. “Wast is simply resources in the wrong place,” says Daniel Crockett of Bio-Bean. I love that sentiment, because it challenges us to rethink what we assume is, or isn’t, something with potential.
10 Fashion Brands Innovating with Textile Waste – Speaking of waste, I also wrote a piece on textile waste. Did you know that in just 20 years, our textile waste has doubled? Today the average American discards around 70 pounds of textiles per year, the majority of it ending up in landfills. Fortunately, there are some innovators out there attempting to do something with it.
Patagonia is Making a Sustainable Kernza Beer – Patagonia, long known for its apparel, is moving into the food space. I love their efforts in working to build a better food system, and the new Long Ale beer is just another example.
Food, Agriculture and Environmental Organizations and Independent Media Outlets You Can Give To – If you’re looking for places to support this holiday season (and places whose work is very needed in the current political climate), I put together a roundup of some food and environment related organizations and media outlets over on Foodie Underground. There’s also an essay about caring (which includes a recipe for pumpkin oatmeal pudding) if you’re interested.
And finally, these weren’t written by me, but I was happy to have Hello, Bicycle mentioned in this list of presents for women cycling fans, as well as this mention of Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break in Condeé Nast Traveller.
Image: Domestic Stencilworks
Handprinted Notebooks
Making art feels good, and so does opening up a blank notebook, which is why I have added handprinted notebooks to the Comestible store.
It is a print of the Comestible logo, to inspire ponderings on food, recipe ideas, notes from your foraging adventures or sketches of nature. The notebooks are from the lovely company Scout Books, 100% recycled paper and bound with black staples.
If you love notebooks and supporting independent artists, hop on over and buy one!
#mybodymychoice
Stars, Stripes and Uterus, 5.5″x 8″ papercut © Anna Brones, 2016.
I made the above papercut in honor of women’s rights around the world, and if you are interested in showing your support of women’s rights, you can snag it as a coffee mug, t-shirt or print over on Society6.
blog.annabrones.com 