“In time for Women’s Month, the second podcast episode featured a content creator and a community journalist, Ms. Janella Herrera (Yourtitaja). While the first episode focuses on the labor before it reaches the cup, the second episode talks about the role of coffee as more than a mere beverage in social constructs. As a content creator who spotlights local and underrated coffee shops, Herrera immersed the conversation with stories of entrepreneurs and some members of the marginalized sector joining in the transformative journey that builds coffee communities from the ground up. Highlighting her role as an ambassador of the Kwentong TechTrans of the Banyuhay Project, she has visited several farming communities where she witnessed firsthand the evolution of coffee from being a constant companion to being a catalyst in creating positive changes and serving as an avenue for channeling these changes to the target stakeholders.
She considered coffee not just a commodity, but a cup filled with stories and struggles it faces. One example she mentioned was that young people in the farming communities they encountered are more enticed to work in corporate jobs and less likely to continue their family farms. Though this challenges the coffee industry in one way, this creates awareness of the hard work expressed in producing coffee.
Further, her exposure to coffee farming communities also allowed her to realize the diversity in coffee culture. Though each location showcases unique systems of production and processes, coffee has been a channel for empowering a certain sector in the community, such as women. “The coffee industry is no longer a boys’ club.” As articulated during the episode, she emphasized that the modern coffee culture portrays a collaborative work of all genders, wherein the need for women in coffee farming, post-harvest, and marketing is now highly regarded. It is also revolutionizing to recognize the fair share of labor in this once male-dominated industry.”
– National Coffee Research, Development and Extension Center – Philippines